Crime & Safety
Western Springs Home Invasions Detailed
A man was knocked to the floor, while a woman escaped with her 3-year-old, police said.
WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – A Western Springs woman was in her home office earlier this month when she heard a loud banging in the kitchen.
Investigating, she saw a man, later identified as 36-year-old William O'Brien of Willow Springs, trying to break into a window, police said.
It was one of two reported home invasions in the same neighborhood. Patch obtained the police report through a public records request.
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The first one was about 2:30 p.m. on July 16 in the 5000 block of Harvey Avenue.
The 35-year-old woman ran to her 3-year-old son's room, picked him up and ran out the front door while seeing O'Brien push out the window, police said.
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While police set up a perimeter, O'Brien stole a pair of pants and escaped through another window, the report said.
O'Brien then went to another house a few lots away in the 200 block of Rugeley Road, while officers were nearby.
According to the report, O'Brien entered through the open garage door and then through an unlocked door to the house. Dripping blood, O'Brien searched the main level, police said.
A 70-year-old man in the house thought his wife had returned home. When O'Brien saw him, he threw the older man to the floor while demanding his car keys, according to the report.
The man told O'Brien the keys were inside the car, a 2014 Ford Edge SUV worth about $5,000, which O'Brien then stole, police said.
The 70-year-old, David Kelly, told ABC7 that he suffered a broken arm, joking, "I'll be dancing in no time."
The two houses are a block from the La Grange hospital, from which O'Brien fled after being taken by ambulance a few hours before, police said.
With the help of license plate-reading cameras, officers found the Ford Edge in a driveway in Willow Springs.
About 8:30 p.m., O'Brien was seen walking along the driver's side of the car toward the back of it. He was immediately arrested.
Police described O'Brien as combative while being placed in a squad car. Once inside, he screamed and hit the door, police said.
O'Brien was charged with home invasion, residential burglary, aggravated battery and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle.
O'Brien was taken to the Cook County Jail, where he remained Monday afternoon.
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