Smoker Helps Foil Burglary In Tinley Park
TINLEY PARK, Ill. (WBBM) -- An alert smoker outside a Tinley Park bar tipped police to a burglary in progress earlier this week.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Nancy Harty reports, the man was smoking a cigarette outside Durbin's Restaurant and Bar around 1 a.m. Wednesday, when he looked across the street and called police after he saw the robbers inside Freddie Bear Sports, 17250 S. Oak Park Ave.
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Tinley Park Police Cmdr. Steve Vaccaro said Thursday that the tip came in at about the same time as a call came from a burglar alarm company.
Police soon arrived, saw a van leaving that fit the witness's description, and gave chase, Vaccaro said. A few miles later, the burglars stopped the van at 167th Street and Kedzie Avenue in Hazel Crest and ran. The three men were then arrested, police said.
"They fled on foot, but they didn't get too far," Vaccaro said.
Police from nearby towns and the Illinois State Police assisted, he said.
Vaccaro credited the smoker with a huge assist.
"He was on his toes and took the initiative to call us right away. He should be commended," Vaccaro said.
The three men got into the store by breaking a plate glass window facing Oak Park Avenue, Vaccaro said. They then broke the gun cases' glass tops and swiped the pistols, he said.
The men did not tell police what they intended to do with the guns, Vaccaro said.
Police recovered each of the 26 handguns that were stolen, Vaccaro said.
Sammie Garrett, 43, 15322 Kilpatrick Ave. in Oak Forest, was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, burglary, aggravated fleeing and possession of a stolen motor vehicle, police said.
Jheramie Mack, 25, 93 Forest Blvd. in Park Forest, and Lawless Hawk, 22, 542 Circle Drive in University Park, each was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, burglary and criminal trespassing to a vehicle, police said.
The store's owner was not available for comment Thursday. Employees declined comment.
Cook County Circuit Judge Colleen McSweeney-Moore set bail at at $75,000 for Garrett, and at $10,000 each for Mack and Hawk on Thursday at the Bridgview Courthouse, said a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office. They were being held at the Cook County Jail, according to the spokeswoman.
The store has a burglar alarm, but a business owner is typically called before police are called, Vaccaro said.
The SouthtownStar contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire
