Group Led by 'Scream'-Masked Attacker Try to Steal Man's Cell Phone

As many as five suspects assaulted a Tinley Park man in an attempt to take his cell phone Tuesday night as he walked through Nasebandt Park.

A 20-year-old Tinley Park man was attacked Tuesday by as many as five assailants led by a suspect in a Scream-style mask who tried to steal his cell phone, according to a Tinley Park Police report. READ: Coma Victim's Mother Files Lawsuit Against Hospitals The victim was walking through Nasebandt Park just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30, when he saw two men in jeans and dark hoodies sitting at a picnic table under a nearby pavilion, the report stated. That's when a third man wearing a Scream mask hit the victim on the left of his face and ordered him to give him his cell phone, the report continued. The two men at the picnic table then got up and began hitting the victim, the report stated. During the attack, the victim threw his cell …

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Pickpocket Robs Woman at Tinley Gas Station; Police Follow Video Leads

A man stole a woman's wallet last week and used her cards at local stores.

Tinley police were hot on the trail two thieves last week. They reviewed video footage of purchases the pair made using stolen credit cards but as of Monday, no arrests had been made. Those cards were initially taken from a woman who pit stopped around 10 p.m. July 26 at Speedway gas station, 7201 183rd St. The 61-year-old said she believed she was pick-pocketed while standing near the soda fountain machine and felt someone bump into her. "I was able to view the video from Speedway and observed a tall, male, black in a cream shirt and pants near (the victim) at the pop machine," police said, in the report. "He could be seen talking to her and going in her purse as she bent over to pick something off the ground around 8 p.m." The woman …

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Two Men Rob 89-year-old Woman by Taking Advantage of her Helpful Nature

Tinley Park police are investigating a theft that occurred last week at a local store.

An 89-year-old woman was robbed in a Tinley store last week while a man distracted her in a grocery aisle, insisting he needed her help. The Frankfort woman was buying food at Super Target, 7300 191st St., July 21 between 1 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. when she noticed that her wallet was missing from her purse. In that time frame, a man approached her saying he needed help grabbing the items he wanted to buy. "While she was shopping, an unknown male subject kept asking her to assist him in getting items off the shelf," the report said. " … The subject asked her approximately three times to assist him in getting items off the shelves for him." When she later dug through her purse to find her list, she noticed that her wallet was gone.The woman …

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Police Investigate Armed Robbery at Tinley Park Shell

A man walked into a Shell station on Harlem last weekend wearing a ski mask and displaying a large knife, police said.

An armed robbery occurred around 3:30 a.m. Sunday at a local gas station, according to Tinley Park police reports. Police said they responded around that time to Shell, 17101 Harlem Ave., for a call about an armed robbery in which the offender was dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask and gloves. He had displayed a large knife and fled in an unknown direction, police said. The report did not specify whether money was stolen from the station. It also didn't provide any further details about the robbery itself. Tinley Park Police Cmdr. Steve Vaccaro was not immediately available for comment Friday.
Records did show, however, that a 33-year-old Joliet woman was found bleeding near the scene and was thereafter interviewed by police. The …

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Carrie Frillman

4:33 pm on Saturday, June 18, 2011

Hi Patty, thanks for commenting! I know it's only natural to feel that way, but Tinley does remain a very safe place to live. Unfortunately, these things happen everywhere. It's sad, really.   more ›

UPDATE: Police Say 'New Neighbor' Crimes Are Probably Connected

The March 15 robbery mirrors a similar trespassing at a different Tinley Park home on March 9.

In the second incident in as many weeks where a man introduces himself as "John, the new neighbor" and takes the resident out back to show them planned work, robbers took $4,000 in cash and $9,700 in jewelry – including the wedding and engagement rings – from a Tinley Park home, police said. At about 2:30 p.m. March 15, a man identifying himself as John Lopez introduced himself to the the resident of a home on the 16000 block of 85th Place, saying he and his wife had just bought the house in back, police said. "John" then took the resident to the back yard, ostensibly to show her where the fence was going to be replaced. When the "new neighbor" left about 15 minutes later, the woman went to her bedroom to put her purse away and noticed her…

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Southland Stories

Bowling Brings Out the Beast In You; Chuck E. Cheese Brings Out Something Else

From a bowling alley brawl to a thumb-tack attack, the Southland's crime reports deliver tales of oddity this week.

See how the other half lives in this roundup of Crime-N-Shame, the Southland blotter spotter. Are you really manly if you get into a shoving match with a guy who will be 70 on his next birthday? A 69-year-old man told police he was bowling at Oak Forest Bowl when another man—Jon Damon, 40,  of the 16700 block of 92nd Avenue in Orland Hills—began exchanging words with his team. According to reports, Damon told police he was walking away when a team member taunted him, questioning his masculinity. Damon then turned and shoved him, according to police. Staff spotted the brawl and broke it up, and police said Damon was charged with assault. An employee at Dunkin Donuts, 4100 block of 167th Street in Oak Forest, told police a man threatened him…

One Charged in Smokey Top Armed Robbery

The robber detained by the clerk in the Dec. 28 attempted armed robbery has been released from the hospital and charged with aggravated robbery, police said.

Anthony Griffin, 42, of the 18600 block of Becker Terrace, Country Club Hills, has been charged with aggravated robbery for the failed Dec. 28 hold-up at Tinley Park's Smokey Top Tobacco, police said Tuesday. Griffin, who was detained by employees of the smoke shop at 7301 183rd St. and taken to an area hospital that night, was charged early Tuesday morning as he was due to be released from the hospital, police Cmdr. Pat McCain said. Police are still looking for two other men in the robbery, McCain said. McCain would not comment on how Griffin was injured or on reports of gunfire during the robbery, citing the ongoing search for the other two men. He said police are investigating whether these are the same men involved in a similar …

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Smokey Top Clerk Detained Robber, Police Say

Although one suspect was hospitalized, police said no one was shot and would not confirm radio reports of gunfire in an attempted Tuesday night robbery.

Employees at Smokey Top tobacco detained one of three men, two of whom were armed, after an attempted robbery Tuesday night, a release issued by the Tinley Park police department said. According to the release, three black men entered the store at 7301 183rd St. demanding money at about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday. Two of them were armed, police said. The clerks managed to detain one of the men and the other two men fled on foot, police said. Cmdr. Steve Vaccaro on Tuesday night said he would not speculate on why the man, one of three suspects in the attempted robbery, was hospitalized but said the man had not been shot. Vaccaro also said he would not speculate on if shots were fired. Police are looking for the other two suspects, Vaccaro said. …

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Man Hospitalized After Attempted Tobacco Store Robbery

One suspect was taken to the hospital after an attempted robbery this evening of the Smokey Tops tobacco shop at 7301 W. 183rd St. Earlier reports of a shooting were inaccurate.

Updated at 9:58 p.m. One suspect in an attempted armed robbery was taken to an area hospital during the attempted robbery of the Smokey Tops tobacco store about 7 p.m. this evening, Cmdr. Steve Vaccaro said. Reports published earlier in the evening that a robber had been shot proved unfounded. Discussions over the police radio indicated a man had been shot in the robbery. Police confirmed a man had been hospitalized, but not shot. "A lot of times we get preliminary reports where we get situations called into our dispatch center," Vaccaro said. "Sometimes the information they give us may or may not be correct." Vaccaro said he would not speculate on why the man, one of three suspects in the attempted robbery, was hospitalized. He also said …

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Gunman Robbed 7-Eleven

Scarf-wearing robber pressed gun against the clerk's head and said "Give me the money or I will kill you."

A gunman whose face was obscured by a scarf stole about $100 from a Tinley Park 7-Eleven convenience store at about 2:30 a.m. Nov. 19, police said. The gunman, described as a white man wearing all black, entered the store at 7601 159th St. and displayed a silver handgun, police said. According to police, the man, whose face was covered below the eyes with a black scarf, then placed the gun at the back of the female clerk's head and said "Give me the money or I will kill you." After walking the clerk around the counter to the register, the man told her "I know you and I will never hurt you," police said. The clerk then opened the register and the robber took about $100 from the cash drawer before fleeing on foot, police said. The clerk said…

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