Crime & Safety

Copper Thief Guts Blue Fox Bar; Man Wires Money for Fake Sweepstakes Prize

Tinley Park police reports, Oct. 6, 7 and 13.

THURSDAY, OCT. 13

Copper Thief Guts Blue Fox Bar

Police said that about $3,000 in damages were caused—most of which were stolen copper pipes—to the former Blue Fox Bar & Grill, 6820 West 179th Street in . The thief, or thieves, may have entered the vacant restaurant through a plastic attic vent on the east section of the roof, according to the police report. Copper lines were cut from all four of the building's water heaters, along with copper valves and fittings. There was about 20 feet of copper pipe at each location. The thief also stole pipes from the kitchen sink area, police said. A glass door leading to the patio area was found broken, according to the report. The victim said the building was in receivership after foreclosure proceedings.

FRIDAY, OCT. 7

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol

arrested Keith R. Johnson, 52, of the 4800 block of 157th Street in Oak Forest, around 11 p.m. near the intersection of 80th Avenue and 189th Street in Tinley Park. He reportedly failed field sobriety tests and made the comment, "I couldn't do that if I was sober," while performing the line test, police said. He was charged with making an improper U-turn, improper lane use, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.08.

THURSDAY, OCT. 6

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Man Wires Money for Fake Sweepstakes Prize

A Tinley Park man who believed he'd won a sweepstakes prize wired $1,900 to an unknown recipient to collect what he thought was a $310,000 prize. The 61-year-old went to police officers on Oct. 5 around 6:25 p.m. to tell them about the scam, according to the report. He said he received a letter from Canada stating that he'd won a sweepstakes prize of $310,000. He was sent a check for $4,985 and told to deposit that money into his bank account, and then pay a $2,800 processing fee. "The victim deposited the check into his account on Oct. 5 … he was told that he could send $1,900 for a first payment, but would have to send the remaining $900 by the end of the same day," the report said. The victim sent the first payment and was then contacted by bank representatives, who said that the check he'd deposited was fake, police said. The victim said that he had taken several trips to Canada over the past several months and thought he could have purchased a ticket for a sweepstakes prize.

 

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