



by BRIAN NADIG

16th (Jefferson Park) District police say that recent arrests and the questioning of people who were ringing doorbells in Edgebrook may help explain a 28 percent decrease in the number of burglaries reported in the district this year.

"That’s 100 fewer burglaries than last year," 16 District commander Roger Bay said at the June 17 meeting of the 16th District Advisory Committee. "That’s saving money, as windows, doors are not having to be replaced."

Bay said that residential burglary patterns in some sections of the district appeared to have stopped following the arrests.

There were 258 burglaries reported in the district through June 15, compared to 358 during the same period in 2013. There were 10 burglaries reported in Beat 1621, which includes Forest Glen and Edgebrook.

Police questioned three men who were seen ringing doorbells in the 6300 block of North Nokomis Avenue on March 27. Another man, who has a prior burglary arrest, was seen ringing doorbells on April 11 near Touhy and Lehigh avenues, and he was arrested later that month after he pawned items which had been reported stolen from a home in Oak Park, police said.

Police arrested another suspected burglar following a foot case through several back yards. The man was questioned in connection with a reported burglary on June 12 at a home in the 5500 block of West Berenice Avenue in which the rear door of a home was forced open, police said.

Also at the meeting, it was reported that three girls age 15 to 17 were arrested in connection with the armed robbery of a pizza delivery man in the 4900 block of West Cuyler Avenue. A fourth teen was released without being charged, police said.

The suspects allegedly lured the man into an apartment by asking for help and then one of them displayed a knife and another struck him on the head with a bottle after he told them that he had no money, according to police. The man reported that he gave the assailants money and fled from the apartment, police said.

The committee honored Wendy Weller and Kenneth Varchetto as Officer of the Month for their April 23 arrest of three suspects, one of whom had a gun protruding from the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt. The other two suspects were charged with possession of marijuana, police said.



