Crime News
As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, the Chicago Police Department has issued an alert regarding multiple thefts of large construction equipment from McKinley Park neighborhood work sites. Five incidents of construction equipment theft have plagued the neighborhood, starting with a December 7, 2018, heist in the 3200 block of South Ashland Avenue.
Additional thefts occurred around 7 a.m. on January 9, 2019, in the 1700 block of West 35th Street; around 4 p.m. on January 9 in the 1600 block of West 35th Street; around 6:30 a.m. on January 14 in the 3500 block of South Marshfield Avenue; and around noon on February 2 in the 1900 block of West Pershing Road.
Read more: Construction Thieves Target McKinley Park Work Sites
A string of vandalism incidents plagued the McKinley Park neighborhood on Sunday night, January 6, according to Chicago Police and attendees at the January 9 meeting of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) meeting for Beat 912. Ninth District CAPS officer Jason Sollis outlined a string of succeeding vandalism crimes after an impassioned request for information from Antonio Cabezas, facilities manager at the National Latino Education Institute.
According to Cabezas, damage to the institute included graffiti and 17 windows being shot out with a BB gun, with total damages in the thousands of dollars. He estimated the incident took place between 10 p.m. and midnight.
Read more: Weekend Vandalism Spree Ravages Neighborhood, Say Victims, Police at CAPS Meeting
Chicago Fire Department officers, with the support of Chicago Police Department and other emergency personnel, quickly contained a residential building fire on the 3700 block of South Honore Street the morning of Wednesday, January 2, 2019. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire, although the building sustained extensive damage.
Chicago Police Department officers on the scene said the suspected cause of the fire was a gas line ruptured in the course of home renovation.
Read more: First Responders Contain Blaze on 3700 Block of South Honore Street
Officers from the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) program highlighted recent local crime incidents at the October 10 CAPS meeting for Beat 912, including an attempted nighttime sex assault on Western Boulevard and a string of local burglaries and related enforcement action. CAPS Officer Oscar Escalante stayed mum on the details of the attempted September 13 sex assault due to ongoing investigation and victim privacy; public records show the attempted attack took place at 10:30 p.m. in the 3700 block of South Western Boulevard.
Escalante offered more details on the neighborhood's recent burglaries, which targeted a mix of residential and commercial properties. A September 30 burglary at a commercial business in the 3600 block of South Ashland Avenue included theft from an office safe and the disabling and theft of the security camera footage, Escalante said.
Read more: Attempted Sex Assault, Burglary Spree Among Recent Crimes Highlighted at CAPS Meeting
Alleged gang members were cleared out of an illegal basement apartment at 3629 S. Wood St. on Monday, October 1, as part of an official eviction process shepherded by the 12th Ward office. The culmination of many months of work, the eviction brought 12th Ward representatives, police, social services personnel and property owner Julio Zamudio together to remove tenants and their belongings from the basement apartment, and to board up the unit.
The eviction comes after the 12th Ward and the City of Chicago took Zamudio to court to compel him to address problems at the property, which the 12th Ward had requested the city officially designate as a troubled building. 12th Ward Chief of Staff Samie Martinez said the property had been associated with numerous local gang crime problems, including shootings, gang graffiti and attacks on civic infrastructure such as cutting power to the street lights for the entire block.
Read more: Eviction Drives Alleged Gang Members from Troubled McKinley Park House
