Man Charged With Stealing Beer

The following incidents and arrests were reported by the Downers Grove Police Department:

Beer Stolen From Restaurant

Edward Colon, 47 of Downers Grove, was arrested and charged with one count of retail theft for allegedly stealing a case of Budweiser beer valued at $20. Police responded to a call from Gattos Restaurant, 5123 Main Street, concerning a man who came into the restaurant and stole a case of Budweiser beer. Upon arrival, officers spoke to an employee who told officers through an interpreter that a white male wearing a green t-shirt entered the rear of the restaurant, grabbed the case of beer and ran off. As officers were in the area, another officer observed Colon with a bottle of Budweiser on a back stairwell of an apartment building not far away. An officer spoke to Colon who “didn't say much but didn't deny stealing the beer” according to the report. Officers entered an apartment in the building and recovered a case of Budweiser with 19 bottles inside of it, which were returned to the restaurant. People inside the apartment told police Colon arrived with the beer moments before the police did.

After being arrested and placed in the squad car, Colon slumped over in the vehicle and advised he needed to go to the hospital. Downers Grove Fire Department medics were called and transported Colon to the hospital for chemical dependency issues. When released later, Colon was transported back to DGPD and charged with one count of retail theft. He was released on an I-Bond.

Counterfeit Bills

A store manger for Bed Bath and Beyond, 1548 Butterfield Rd, contacted the police on September 20 about two $100 counterfeit bills that were passed in the store on September 19.

According to store manager, the bills were noticed at the end of the day when the cashiers turned in the money. The store manager asked the cashier if she remembered the transactions and asked her why she didn't check the bills. The cashier said she didn't recall the transactions and was too busy to check the bills.

The store manager advised police two black males came into the store and checked out at the same time with the same cashier. The manager gave the police two CDs with footage of the suspects from the security video and the two counterfeit bills. Only one suspect could be seen on the video. The complainant described the suspect as a 5' 4” thin, bald black male who was wearing a black colored workout jacket with matching pants and a white shirt.

The officer contacted the Secret Service Chicago office and was advised to fax a copy of the report to their office and to check the bills for prints. DGPD located a partial fingerprint on one of the bills and another fingerprint on the other. The bills were placed into evidence and sent to the lab.

Stolen Whiskey

Two witnesses at Westbrook Market, 2065 63rd Street, reported to police that on September 20 they observed a black male place a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Whiskey in the front of his shorts inside the store. One of the witnesses tried to tell the offender not to leave the store, but the offender didn't listen and ran out. The store's business manager showed the security camera footage to the DGPD and video shows the offender putting the bottle into the front of his shorts before leaving the store. The offender was wearing a orange shirt with the letters “ANF” across the chest. The bottle of whiskey was valued at 32.99. There are no suspects.

GPS Stolen From Car

A Garmin Nuvi 760 GPS valued at $700.00 and a radar detector valued at $70 was stolen from a vehicle at some time between September 5 and September 19. The victim noticed around 5 p.m. on September 19 the items were missing. The vehicle was parked in the victim's driveway at the time, and there were no signs of forced entry. The victim advised DGPD the vehicle was locked when he checked it on September 19. The DGPD officer dusted for prints with negative results.

Car Window Busted

The rear passenger side window of a car parked on the second level of the parking deck in the doctor's parking area of Good Samaritan Hospital, 3815 Highland Avenue, was broken out on September 20 sometime between 2 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.. According to the victim, when he returned to his vehicle at 7:45 p.m. he noticed the window broken out and a mark on the rear passenger door which appeared to be from another vehicle striking it. It was unknown if the force of that impact was enough to break the window. There was no indication of what broke the window, but several items of value inside the car were not taken so it doesn't appear burglary was committed. Security camera footage didn't have a good view of the vehicle.

Off Duty Fire Captain Badge Stolen

An off-duty Westchester fire captain found his wallet, cell-phone, off-duty fire captain badge and fire commission card had been stolen from his vehicle when he returned to it after parking at Good Samaritan Hospital on September 20. The victim stated the theft occurred at some point between 3:20 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.. When the victim returned to his car he used the remote to unlock the doors and doesn't know if the car was locked or not, but the windows were partly down. There were no signs of forced entry to the vehicle. The items were taken from various glove boxes in the vehicles. The cell phone was valued at $50, the wallet $45, badge $70. A LEADS message was sent out on the commission card and badge.

Criminal Trespass to Land

Virginia Moss, 72, of Lemont was arrested and charged with trespass after she was found sleeping in her car September 21 around 1:13 p.m. on the top floor of a parking deck at Good Samaritan Hospital. Moss had been warned by officers before on September 7 not to sleep there and was told if she did it again she would be arrested. Moss was released on an I-Bond.

Tires Punctured

Tires were punctured on a victims 2004 Chrysler Town and Country parked outside of a room at Red Roof Inn, 1113 Butterfield Road sometime between 11:30 p.m. September 18 and 10:30 a.m. September 19. A DGPD officer observed all four tires had single puncture marks approximately a half-inch wide made by some type of small knife. The vehicle's owner stated she had no idea who may have damaged her vehicle. The damage was estimated at $600.

Patch reports on law enforcement activity in our town, using information provided by official agencies. Persons charged with a crime or issued a citation for violation of a local ordinance are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If you or a family member are charged with a crime or cited for a violation and the charge or citation is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor of this Patch at Robert.Bykowski@Patch.com so we can follow up on the case.