4 Northwest Side Businesses Hit With Break-Ins Over 2 Hours
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Four businesses were broken into within miles of each other on the Northwest Side Thursday morning.
The thieves were armed with axes as they were caught on video breaking into the shops. Police said Thursday afternoon that the burglars hit three shops in 30 minutes.
As CBS 2's Marissa Parra reported, the break-ins took place in the Portage Park, Dunning, and Norwood Park communities – all around the same time. All of those communities are located in the Jefferson Park (16th) Police District.
Police issued a community alert Thursday afternoon about the four break-ins, which happened within a span of a few miles over the course of two hours.
The first incident happened at an Enterprise Rent-a-Car at 5358 W. Irving Park Rd. at 3:04 a.m. Officers found front-door and side windows smashed at the Portage Park car rental.
Just over an hour later at 4:22 a.m., Chi Town Tattoo at 5056 W. Lawrence Ave. – about a mile and a half to the northeast – was hit.
Surveillance video showed people running in – including one person in a gray hoodie. People are seen smashing the door of the tattoo parlor with an axe – trying to pull out the ATM, but failing to do so.
Just 17 minutes later at 4:39 a.m., the next target was Roberto's Jewelers at 7005 W. Higgins Ave., three miles to the northwest.
In that incident surveillance video showed people inside the store, including somebody in a gray hoodie again. The thieves used what appeared to be an axe or a hammer to smash the display cases, before crawling out of the smashed windows of the jewelry store to make their escape.
Finally, 13 minutes after that at 4:52 a.m., there was more shattered glass as SmokePost CBD Dispensary at 3411 N. Harlem Ave. – three miles south of the jewelry store - was hit.
In the community alert, police said the one of the suspects was wearing dark clothing, and another was wearing a white hooded sweat shirt, blue jeans, and white gym shoes with red laces.
The suspects fled in a light blue or gray Chrysler Town and Country minivan with a temporary license plate, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Area Five detectives at (312) 746-7394.
