Unemployment Fraud; Political Signs Stolen; DUI Crash: Blotter

The following information comes from the Glencoe, Northfield, Wilmette and Winnetka police departments as a record of police activity and incidents reported to the police. Criminal charges represent merely accusations by the state and are often dropped or reduced. Updated information may be available from the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Anyone arrested is innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

INCIDENTS

CRIMINAL DAMAGE
Someone knocked down a stop sign at Grove Street and South Avenue prior to 8:30 a.m. July 22.

ATTEMPTED GRANDSON SCAM

A scammer tried to convince a Jackson Avenue resident to provide a $3,000 wire transfer, purportedly to help their grandson after he was involved in an accident. There was no financial loss.

WIRE TRANSFER FRAUD
A Brian Lane resident reported on the afternoon of July 21 that an unidentified fraudster had tricked them into sending a wire transfer of more than $10,000.

CAR BURGLARIES

• A burglary broke into a locked Honda parked in the first block of Hazel Avenue and stole cash and credit cards prior to 10 a.m. July 18.

• Someone stole $20 in cash and credit cards from an unlocked Jeep in the 1200 block of Sheridan Road prior to noon on July 22.

IDENTITY THEFTS

• An Oakdale Avenue resident reported around noon on July 16 that they had received a debit card in the mail after someone used their identity to apply for unemployment benefits.

• A Willgate Terrace resident reported on the morning of July 17 that someone had unsuccessfully tried to open up four credit cards using their identity but succeeded in acquiring an iPhone after opening an account with Verizon.

• A Washington Avenue resident reported on July 20 that someone had used their identity to apply for unemployment.

• On July 21, a trio of residents of Oak Drive and Eastwood Road also reported identity thieves had applied for employment benefits in their names.

• A Vernon Avenue resident reported on July 22 that someone had used their identity to apply for retirement benefits.

• On July 25, residents of Washington Avenue and Eastwood Road reported thieves had unsuccessfully applied for unemployment benefits in their names.

• A Greenwood Avenue resident reported on the evening of July 26 that someone had gotten access to their account and tried to buy $3,600 worth of products at a Target store.

• On the morning of July 27, residents of Jefferson Avenue and Carol Lane reported someone had tried and failed to apply for unemployment benefits using their identity.

ARRESTS/CITATIONS

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Kyale D. Washington, 20, of the 700 block of East Taft Avenue, Appleton, Wisconsin, was arrested shortly before 5 p.m. on July 15 in the 900 block of Green Bay Road and charged with possession of controlled substance.

Nicholas A. Henderson, 21, of the 3800 block of S. Wells Street, Chicago, was arrested around 6:45 p.m. on July 17 in the 700 block of Old Green Bay Road and charged with battery.

A 31-year-old Chicago woman was arrested around 11:45 p.m. on July 21 near Dundee Road and Pebblewood Lane and charged with driving without a valid license and cited for driving without lights when required.

Nicole Kathleen Jackson, 30, of the 6600 block of Gunnison Way, Harwood Heights, was arrested around 3 a.m. on July 25 and charged with driving and under the influence following a traffic stop near Estate Drive and Sheridan Road. She was also issued citations for illegal transportation of an open container of alcohol by a driver and speeding.

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INCIDENTS

POSSIBLE PEE
Northfield Park District staff reported that surveillance camera footage showed a man walk up to the door and try to open the main entrance around 12:15 p.m. But when he found it locked, he walked toward the southwest side of the building, pulled his pants down and may have urinated on the side of the building.

PAYCHECK DISPUTE
Someone who purported to be the boyfriend of a former employee of Teddie Kossof Salon, 281 Waukegan Road, showed up at the business around 10 a.m. July 18 and demanded information regarding the ex-employee’s paycheck. He left after staff told him they had called the police. Officers explained to the former employee the dispute was a civil matter and salon management told said boyfriend was banned from the property.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE
Police were called to St. Philip the Apostle Church, 1962 Old Willow Road, for a report that someone threw a bottle through a basement window on the church’s south side.

SUSPICIOUS PHONE CALL
An Old Willow Road resident received a suspicious call from a man asking for personal information and a social security number but did not provide it, police were told on July 25.

MISSING SIGN
A resident in the 100 block of Coach Road reported around 11 a.m. on July 11 that a private sign was missing from the corner of Winnetka and Coach roads, but they were unsure whether it was stolen or taken for repair.

IDENTITY THEFTS

• Arbor Lane residents reported on July 14 and July 20 that someone had used their identity to file for unemployment benefits

• A Pebblefork Lane resident reported on July 17 that someone had used their identity to file for unemployment benefits.

• A County Lane resident reported on July 22 that someone had applied for unemployment benefits in their name.

• A Thornwood Lane resident reported an unauthorized attempt to file for unemployment benefits in their name on July 22..

INCIDENTS

RUSE BURGLARY ATTEMPT
A resident in the 2600 block of Lake Avenue reported on July 19 that two men had come to her house around 4 p.m. on July 17 and asked to check the water pressure. She allowed them to come in and check the kitchen and bathroom. Although she did not hear anyone inside and did not notice anything missing, she had seen a similar incident in the news and thought it may have been related. She described one of the uninvited visitors as a young, 5-foot, 7-inch-tall Hispanic man with short brown hair and brown eyes.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

• A custodian at Harper School, 1101 Darmouth St., reported an exterior gate was broken from its mount between 3:30 p.m. July 17 and 7 a.m. July 20.

• The back window of a van was found smashed while parked in a driveway in the 1500 block of Forest Avenue between 9:10 p.m. July 20 and 11:21 a.m. July 21.

• CTA staff reported that someone spray painted a tag on a train car between midnight and 11:45 a.m. on July 27.

SIGN THEFTS

• Someone damaged a Trump/Pence lawn sign on July 14 and stole two political signs worth $20 from a home in the 100 block of 17th Street sometime between 9 p.m. July 17 and 7:30 a.m. on July 18.

• Someone stole a “Trump 2020” and “Support the Police” sign from the front yard of a home in the 200 block of Westmoreland Drive between 4 p.m. July 19 and 3:20 p.m. July 20.

PACKAGE THEFTS

• A package containing a $500 laptop computer was stolen after it was delivered to the lobby of an apartment building in the 500 block of 5th Street between 12:30 p.m. and 4:40 p.m.

• A package containing a piece of fitness equipment of unspecified value was taken after it was delivered to a home in the 300 block of Ridge Road prior to noon on July 10, police were told.

BEACH THEFTS

• Someone stole a paddle board from the sailing beach at Gillson Park after it was left unsecured there from July 1 to July 19.

• An iPhone was reported stolen from a beach bag after it was left unattended on the afternoon of July 23 at the Wilmette Park District’s swimming beach at 101 Lake Ave.

BIKE THEFTS

• Someone stole an unknown type of bicycle from a Wilmette resident’s child at the Jewel-Osco, 411 Green Bay Road around 4 p.m. July 13, police were told.

• Someone stole a mint green Firmstrong Urban Beach Cruiser bicycle from the side of a garage in the 1500 block of Forest Avenue after it was left unattended between 10 p.m. on July 18 and 1 p.m. on July 19.

IDENTITY THEFTS

• On July 18, five residents of Central Avenue, Hollywood Court, Harvard Lane and Greenwood Avenue reported receiving unauthorized debit cards for unemployment benefits. The husband of one of them reported someone used his identity to apply for a Small Business Administration loan the prior day.

• On July 19, a resident reported his 92-year-old father received a debit card for unemployment benefits he had never applied for.

• A Thornwood Avenue resident, who said he had never applied for unemployment benefits, reported on getting a pair of letters in May letting him know he had not qualified. Then in July, he got two more letters notifying him that benefits would be deposited into a Sutton Bank account.

• On July 20, a Park Avenue resident reported getting a fraudulent Key Bank debit card for unemployment benefits they had never applied for, and a Washington Avenue resident learned from their employer’s human resources department that someone had filed a fraudulent unemployment claim in their name.

• On July 21, residents of Central Avenue and Locust Avenue reported getting fraudulent Key Bank cards, and a Park Avenue resident, who is still employed, reported someone had been using her identity to receive benefits starting on June 21.

• On July 23, residents of Pontiac Road, Laurel Lane, Sheridan Road, Leclaire Avenue and Lincoln Lane were reported to be unemployment benefit identity theft victims. One of the people to whom a fraudulent debit card was sent was dead and at least two were retired.

• On July 25, a Prairie Avenue resident reported getting a Key Bank debit card despite never applying for unemployment or COVID-19 related relief.

• On July 27, residents of Highland Avenue and Hollywood Court each reported getting two cards from the state unemployment agency for which they had never applied.

ARRESTS/CITATIONS

John F. D’Angelo, 23, of the 900 block of Ashland Avenue, Wilmette, was arrested shortly after 12:30 a.m. on July 25 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and with a breath alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater after striking a parked car in the 1600 block of Spencer Avenue. He provided a sample indicating he had a BAC of 0.121 and was driven home by an officer after he was released on his own recognizance.

INCIDENTS

TRESPASSING
Someone got into a garage in the 800 block of Lincoln Avenue prior to 1:45 p.m. July 13 after a side door was left unlocked. Nothing appeared to have been stolen at the time of the report.

BIKE THEFT
Someone stole an unlocked $400 mountain bike between 2:30 and 3 p.m. July 13 after it was left leaning against a fence in the 1100 block of Ash Street.

GOLF THEFT
Someone stole a golf bag full of clubs and supplies worth more than $5,000 from a driveway in the 600 block of Spruce Street after it was left unattended between 11:10 and 11:15 p.m. on July 14.

VANDALISM
A resident in the 1000 block of Willow Road reported that someone used orange spray paint to deface the sidewalk in front of their home between 8 p.m. July 17 and 1 p.m. July 18. The repair costs were unknown at the time of the report.

FORGERY
An employee at New Trier Township offices at 739 Elm Street reported on July 24 that someone had used business account information to cash a fraudulent check for more than $5,000 at some point between between June 3 and June 10.

CAR BURGLARY
Someone stole a credit card and debit card from a wallet left in an unlocked vehicle in the 500 block of Hibbard Road between 9 and 10:30 a.m. on July 22 and tried to use them to make unauthorized purchases.

IDENTITY THEFTS

• Someone used the identity of an Asbury Avenue resident to open a Sprint account and spent more than $5,000 between March 17 and July 13.

• An Oak Street resident reported someone used their identity to apply for unemployment benefits on July 5.

• Someone used an Ash Street resident’s identity to obtain an unauthorized small business loan.

• Between July 19 and July 23, residents of Ash Street, Edgewood Lane, Garland Avenue, Green Bay Road, Rosewood Avenue, Tower Road, Foxdale Avenue and Willow Road all reported that their identities had been used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits.

ARRESTS/CITATIONS

Thomas Kemnitz, 22, of the 5800 block of North Winthrop Avenue, Chicago, was arrested at the Winnetka Police Department on the morning of July 14 on a charge of retail theft in connection with an investigation into a report of shoplifting at the Grand Food Center on July 10.

Bennett Lister Cotton, 20, of the 500 block of Oak Street, Winnetka, was arrested around 6 p.m. on July 16 outside his home and charged with domestic battery following a report of a battery in progress in the front yard of his house.

Earlier: Winnetka Man Faces Felony Fleeing, DUI Charges; Chicago Teens Charged With Stolen Car Possession; Scammers Solicit “School Donations,” Gift Cards, Bank Information: New Trier Area Police Blotters, July 9–July 15

If you receive a Key Bank debit card with Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES, paperwork, after submitting a police report, police recommended the following:

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This article originally appeared on the Winnetka-Glencoe Patch