



by BRIAN NADIG

Police suspect that the same individuals who committed a Dec. 27 home invasion in the 5200 block of North Mobile Avenue may be responsible for a similar incident three days later in the 3700 block of North Oconto Avenue.

A 17-year-old male was charged on Jan. 12 in connection with the incident on Mobile, while another suspect who possessed items stolen from the home was released without being charged, according to the 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District. The home invasions were discussed at the Jan. 21 meeting of the 16th District Advisory Committee.

16th District commander James O’Donnell said that the home invasions appear to be related and that additional suspects may be charged. O’Donnell said that it is believed that the house on Mobile was not the original target and that the assailants did not realize their mistake until they were inside the home.

A 40-year-old woman reported that a gunman forced his way into her house and tied her hands and that she later heard the voices of two other individuals inside the house. Jewelry, a television set and computer equipment, valued a total of about $4,400, were reported stolen.

In the other incident, a 67-year-old woman reported that two men demanded money and that one of them struck her on the head with a gun and she was tied up. The woman reported that credit cards and $600 in cash were stolen, according to police.

Another home invasion was reported on Jan. 13 in the 7400 block of West of Forest Preserve Drive, but that incident is not related to the others and may have been a drug deal gone bad, O’Donnell said. While investigating the incident, officers found about 2,200 grams of marijuana inside the home, according to police.

It also was reported that a complaint about loud music led to the arrest of a suspected drug dealer in his apartment in the 5800 block of North Nagle Avenue. Officers reported that there was the odor of marijuana in the apartment and that they found the man who reportedly rents the unit unconscious, police said.

Officers found about 2,900 grams of marijuana, 30 grams of methamphetamine, rolling papers, and several pipes and scales, police said.

The suspect was identified by police as Matthew E. Sheridan, age 18, of the Nagle address. Other individuals who were in the apartment were not charged.

It also was reported that a suspect who allegedly burglarized a van was arrested on Dec. 27 in the 6200 block of West Sunnyside Avenue after footprints found in the near the van matched the prints of the boots that he was wearing. The suspect possessed items which were missing from the van, and he was wearing a class ring belonging to the owner of a vehicle which had been reported burglarized 10 days earlier, police said.

It also was announced that one of the district’s initiatives in 2014 will be to increase business safety. O’Donnell said that stores should install security cameras and make sure that existing ones are working and that buzzer systems on doors are allow businesses to control who enters the building.

The committee presented its Officer of the Month Award to Bruce Dyker and Robert Young for a Nov. 22 incident in which they rescued a man from a burning vehicle.



