Crime & Safety
Police Blotter: Over-the-Counter Drug Thieves; A Ketchup, Toilet Paper and Sardine Mess
Tinley Park police reports, Sept. 30, Oct. 1-2.
SUNDAY, OCT. 2
Man Steals Woman's Purse at Gas Pump
A woman who was pumping gas around 11:30 a.m. at Shell, 17101 S. Harlem Ave., , said that while she was standing on the passenger side of her car, she heard someone open a door on the other side. She then saw the door slightly ajar, peeked in and noticed that her purse was missing. The woman watched a man who she believed to be the culprit pull out of the parking lot and head northbound on Harlem Avenue. She gave his license plate number to . Inside her purse was a Sony digital camera, a checkbook, a debit card, a Cosco card, two insurance cards, a library card, a pair of sunglasses and a wallet, the report said.
SATURDAY, OCT. 1
Over-the-Counter Drug Thieves
An employee at Jewel-Osco, 17117 S. Harlem Ave., Tinley Park, said that between noon and 12:30 p.m., a man and a woman stole four packages of Prilosec and three packages of Allegra. The two placed the meds in a cart that was filled with merchandise and then walked to an area that was not within view of surveillance cameras. They then left separately out the south door of the store, according to the police report. Their full shopping cart was left behind. When the woman walked out the door, the security alarm went off, but no guards were working and able to stop her at the time, police said. Staff gave a copy of the surveillance footage to police.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 30
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A Ketchup, Toilet Paper and Sardine Mess
A woman living in the 7700 block of West 161st Street in Tinley Park, said that sometime between 8 p.m. Sept. 29 and 8 a.m. Sept. 30, someone squirted ketchup all over the front of her garage. They also threw toilet paper in the trees, opened a can of sardines and soap detergent on the front porch and tossed dozens of rubber bands onto the lawn, police said. The woman suspected that the prank was part of Andrew High School's homecoming week.
Spare Tire Stolen
A woman called the cops to report that her spare tire was stolen when her car was towed after a rear-end accident. The car was taken to Tinley Auto, in the 17600 block of Duvan Drive in Tinley Park, according to the report. According to the Tinley Park police inventory, the spare tire was with the woman's car when it was towed from the scene. The tow truck driver said the tire may have fallen from the vehicle due to a snapped cable, the report said. Police drove the same route and didn't find it. Police were working Friday to get a copy of surveillance footage from the impound.
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Retail Theft
arrested Mary S. Pate, 53, of the 20500 block of Acorn Ridge Road in Frankfort, around 11:30 a.m. at Super Target, 7300 W. 191st Street in Tinley Park, and charged her with retail theft. A member of the store's loss prevention staff told cops he recognized Pate when she walked through the doors because he gave her a warning for shoplifting several weeks ago. While picking up prescriptions Friday, she placed in her purse a four-pack of 12-ounce Red Bull drinks, two individual 12-ounce Red Bull drinks, a bag of dog treats, a package of spider-shaped cupcake cups and a bottle of wine, according to the report. A security guard stopped Pate and police later arrested her. Her bail was set at $1,500.
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