Police: Deerfield Woman Escapes Chainsaw Intruder
CHICAGO (STMW) - A chain saw-wielding man broke into a Deerfield apartment last week, police said.
Police arrested Lukasz W. Strama, 28, of Osterman Ave. in Deerfield, March 14 after he allegedly broke into the apartment of an upstairs neighbor by cutting through the door with a chain saw.
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No one was hurt, according to a police report, and Strama was involuntarily committed to Highland Park Hospital after the attack. He later returned to police custody.
A resident told police that she heard a loud noise coming from outside her front door at about 4 p.m. March 14 and assumed that the landscapers were working.
"She said the noise continued to get closer and closer," police reported. "When she went to look and see where the noise was coming from, she observed a chain saw coming through her front door."
The woman started screaming and then called police from inside her apartment as the chain saw-wielder continued to hack through her door, police said. She decided shortly after making the call that leaving would be a good idea.
"(The victim) grabbed her two dogs and tossed them onto a landing in the rear of her apartment," police reported. "She then jumped off her second-floor balcony and ran."
Police arrived and heard from witnesses that Strama allegedly was the cutter. Officers knocked on his door, and, when he opened it, reportedly "could smell strong odor of engine fumes" coming from inside.
The officers reported finding a 20-inch chain saw and a hatchet in Strama's bedroom. They charged him with felony trespassing and criminal damage to property.
The officer told a hospital official to contact Deerfield police before releasing Strama because of the criminal charges.
The hospital staff called before releasing Strama, police said, and he was taken back into Deerfield police custody. His court information was not available this week.
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