Police Still Investigating Twin Daylight Home Burglaries in Tinley Terrace
Tinley Park Police are connecting the two crimes, and a witness saw a male in a dark, hooded sweatshirt in the area. That same day, a suspect matching that description unsuccessfully tried to enter a home on South 67th Court.
Tinley Park Police are still investigating two connected home burglaries Sept. 13 in the Tinley Terrace area where witnesses saw a suspicious male in a hooded sweatshirt around the same time, according to police reports and a department official.
A house in the 16500 block of 66th Court and another in the 6700 block of West 164th Street were burglarized some time between about 7 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. Sept. 13, according to reports. In both cases, the residents weren't at home at the time of the burglaries, the reports stated, adding that officers canvased both streets and talked to neighbors.
READ: Midlothian Man Arrested in Connection With Burglary
One witness, a neighbor on 66th Court, said she saw a male wearing dark pants and a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and dark pants, walking southbound in the 16500 block of 66th Court at 16500 block, the report stated. The witness said the male walked up to the house on 66th Court that was burglarized and went to the backyard, which is when the witness lost sight of the individual, the report continued.
Some of the items reported stolen from the two homes included:
- a black Apple iPad II valued at about $600
- a jar containing several hundred pennies
- a black Apple iPod valued at about $300
- a container containing about $300
- a money clip with $200
- a silver Bulova watch valued at $200
- a gold-and-silver Seiko women’s sports watch worth about $150
- a gold colored Long Jean Wittnauer watch valued at $50
According to the report, police are connecting the two burglaries, and investigators are following what leads they have, said Cmdr. Pat McCain earlier this week.
READ: Chicago Man Charged in Drive-By Shooting
On the same day, officers also received a report at about 2:30 p.m. of a suspicious person around the 16400 block of South 67th Court who tried to enter a home there and then fled when he saw the owner approaching, according to the report.
The resident said he saw a male with these characteristics at his back door, the report stated:
- 5-foot-10 with a thin build.
- He wore a dark, hooded sweatshirt.
- He had a bandana over his face, covering his nose and mouth.
- He wore purple, latex gloves.
After unsuccessfully trying to open the home's rear windows, the suspect opened the back door as the owner was walking to the back of the house, the report continued. That's when the suspect saw the owner and fled, using a lattice flower ladder to scale a backyard fence and escape, the report said.
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Two witnesses in the 67th Court area also saw a male in a dark, hooded sweatshirt at around the same time as the incident there, the report stated. At 1:45 p.m., a resident in the 16400 block of South 66th Avenue told police he saw a male matching the suspect's description, with the hood pulled over his head and carrying what looked like a soda bottle in his back pocket, the report stated. The witness said he didn't remember seeing that person in the neighborhood before, adding that he found it unusual that someone would dress that way given how warm the temperature was that day, the report stated.
The other witness, who also lives in the 16400 block of 67th Court, said he saw someone matching the suspect's descrpition walking east on 164th place from 67th Court at 2:10 p.m., according to the report.
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TP Mom
6:08 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Thanks for not letting this fall by the wayside-I was wondering when we'd get info about the inceidents.
What about the second suspect in the New England break-in-are they working on leads? Is there a description?
Joe Vince
8:35 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
@TP Mom:
No word yet about the second suspect in the New England break-in. I'll keep you posted.
Joe Vince
Local editor
Mo
8:16 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Is the suspect black or white? Kind of an important detail that was left out.
TP Resident
8:29 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
A very important detail was left out indeed!
Joe Vince
11:28 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
@Mo and @TP Resident:
How is the race important if there were no other identifiers, such as hair color, eye color, distinguishing marks, etc.? Does that narrow down the suspect pool significantly? If there is a better description of the suspect, race will be part of it.
Joe Vince
Local editor
Harry Callahan
5:13 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
No I don't agree,I think the PaTch is getting soft on the black and White issue,like the e-mail that was sent to me from the
Patch which I still can't figure out on a comment I made to another commentor about crimes committed in Tinley by other races .
Mo
5:13 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Well then, Joe, why describe anything about him?? I mean, you have the height, build & what he was wearing. That description (minus the gloves/bandana) fits many people who might be taking a stroll through this neighborhood on any given day. If people are to be on alert for suspicious people in their neighborhood, then yes, absolutely his race (as well as general age category) could narrow down who people in the neighborhood are watching out for. Did you leave out the race on purpose? That makes zero sense.
TP Resident
5:13 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
If you know what race he is why wouldn't you include that? Not many people can see hair color with a hood up. How would one see marks?
Why include height? that doesn't narrow down the discription anymore. There are many people in this town that are 5 10' . If you know the race and are with holding it that's just wrong and bad reporting. Every detail about the suspect is important and helpful to paint the picture for watchful residents.
Randal
5:13 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
no joe, you are wrong. race is important in the description. if i went and burglarized a house in country club hills (i am caucasian) i bet it would help narrow the search.
TP Resident
5:13 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Well????
TP Resident
8:34 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Joe what is the patch's policy if any on reporting race involved in crimes? I would be very interested to see you post that.
Joe Vince
8:33 pm on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Patch's guidelines when it comes to reporting race in crime stories is to "use it as part of a complete description when that information may aid in the capture of a suspect. A solid description includes three unchangeable characteristics of the person."
I included what he was wearing because it was significant to why the suspect stood out to one witness. As for including the suspect's height and build, I think @TP Resident's point is valid. Those details are unnecessary, because outside of the suspect's clothing, no witness, according to the reports, gave any useful description that would single this person out in a crowd.
@BEAV: I'm not sure if I'm clear on your point. Because Country Club Hills is predominantly black, a white suspect means police would just investigate that part of the population? If that's the case, how successful is that going to be if you—as the theoretical burglar—live in Tinley Park? That's a lot of innocent people in Country Club Hills being hassled unfairly. Which I think actually makes my point on why race is ineffective in the absence of other descriptors or evidence.
Joe Vince
Local editor
Randal
5:25 am on Friday, September 21, 2012
my point is that a caucasian spotted doing a criminal act in a predominantly african american area would be easier to find if its residents were informed of this. your little on-line news outlet is not doing the residents of tinley park any good with its self censored politically correct reporting. and why is this just being put on your site today? this happened a week ago. two weeks ago it was breaking news about tinley hate crime. instantly and in your face for over a week. a person with a police scanner could dish out more accurate info then you guys.
Harry Callahan
9:51 am on Friday, September 21, 2012
BEAV,I agree with you,but this happens almost everyday from our local TV news,2,5,7, and you forgot one thing its ELECTION TIME,
Harry Callahan
4:58 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
BEAV, I don't know what race the suspect was that commited the home break-in but do you remember a couple of years ago a middle age White male was murdered in a condo around 159th west of Harlem ave and his car was taken, it took months before the media and police announced the suspect and murderer was a convicted black felon who frequently visited his sister in the same condo complex , even the the Lane Bryant killings which was a horrific crime was covered strong for a couple of weeks and faded away especially after the Northern IL. Unv. shootings,but the Natalie Holloway story was still being covered pretty strongly for months after, you get my point the media and officials dont like to over cover a black on White crime,now I don't want to compare a home burglary with the crimes I mention above but there is a pattern how a crime is covered when race is involved or suspected.NOTE: If you ever get a chance check out a horrific brutal crime that was commited against a young couple in the Knoxville Ten, area that only was covered in that area never made it to the national news until the culprits were being put on trial,its called the Christain - Newsom murders.This one really open my eyes on media coverage both nationally and locally.
TP Karen
9:51 am on Friday, September 21, 2012
I totally agree that the race of this individual is essential to the residents of this area. Of course it is a descriptor that is fairly evident. Re Patch's policy of providing 3 unchangeable characteristics...the most they could provide is height/build, wearing a hoodie, bandana and latex gloves? most of those seem pretty changeable! Bottom line is, be vigilant, people. Having lived there for more than 35 years, This neighborhood has always been safe, though very quiet during the day! Keep your eyes open, doors/windows locked and call 911 if you see anything suspicious!
TP Resident
2:26 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Race is a very important part of the description of a subject. Why even report on the story? If basically the reason your reporting on it is to make the public aware and alert. Way to be a liberal, don't want to hurt anyones feelings. Facts are facts. In my eyes the patch has lost some credibility here.
JT
2:26 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Yes race is important when very little detail about the suspect is given. Doesn't it make sense to give every known detail possible? With that logic why say it was a male, why not simply say a person? Why make it a black or white issue? The suspect could have been hispanic, asian, or whatever, any race can be guilty of a crime.
Mike
2:26 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
Also a third house was attempted on last week and they were home. All these break-ins are using the backdoor. So I suggest we all leave the back light on.
Randal
7:31 pm on Friday, September 21, 2012
im guessing soon that mug shot monday will go away. since the majority of the people are shoplifters are black and come from the south side and southeast suburbs to steal. maybe a shadow with, "photo not available" printed.