Police search for burglars who enter Northwest Side homes using ruse
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police on Monday issued a warning about a group of burglars who find their way into elderly Northwest Side residents' homes using a ruse.
In each incident, one person came up to an elderly victim and started talking with them about home repairs or problems with their water. While the victims were distracted, a second person walked into the victims' houses and stole jewelry and money.
The burglaries happened during the spring and summer last year. The specific times and locations are as follows.
- 8100 block of West Berwyn Avenue, Oriole Park, on May 28, 2022, at 4 p.m.
- 5000 block of West Sunnyside Avenue, Portage Park, on May 31, 2022, at noon.
- 5300 block of West Berenice Avenue, Portage Park, on June 2, 2022, at 3:30 p.m.
- 5800 block of West Foster Avenue, Jefferson Park, on June 9, 2022, at 3 p.m.
- 5700 block of North Merrimac Avenue, Norwood Park, on June 9, 2022, at 6:30 p.m.
- 5200 block of West Dakin Street, Portage Park, on June 13, 2022, at 4:20 p.m.
- 4300 block of North Narragansett Avenue, Dunning, on June 15, 2022, at 3 p.m.
- 6000 block of West School Street, Dunning, on June 18, 2022, at 2:20 p.m.
- 6000 block of North Keystone Avenue, Sauganash, on July 13, 2022, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- 4500 block of North Melvina Avenue, Portage Park, on July 26, 2002, at 2 p.m.
- 3900 block of North Kedzie Avenue, Irving Park, on August 7, 2022, at 5:55 p.m.
- 4900 block of West Byron Street, Portage Park, on August 11, 2022, at 7:30 p.m.
The offenders are described as a Hispanic male between 30 and 40, standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 150 to 160 pounds; a while male between 48 and 55, standing 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 250 pounds, and a white female about 50 years old, standing 5 feet tall and weighing 100 to 110 pounds.
The burglars use a gray sport-utility vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call Area Five detectives at (312) 746-7394.
Back in August, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart put out an alert about a similar burglary in the 7900 block of West Bryn Mawr Avenue in unincorporated Norwood Park Township at 5:15 p.m. Aug. 8 of last year. In that incident, five people knocked on the back door of the home of a 68-year-old woman and a 71-year-old man, led them to the backyard, and claimed there was an issue with their drinking water.
Meanwhile, multiple people walked into the victims' home through the front door. The victims spotted one of the intruders and chased him, police said.
Two offenders got into a dark gray, late-model Kia Sorento SUV with another man inside and drove off, while two others ran. In this case, the suspects were described as men wearing black medical-grade face masks and sunglasses.
While the modus operandi and the getaway car description are similar, it is not clear if this burglary was related to the pattern identified by Chicago Police.