byCompiled by Stacey Sheridan
An Oak Park resident avoided a carjacking by driving away from his would-be carjackers this past weekend. The two men who had attempted to take the resident’s vehicle were later connected to a stolen vehicle out of Chicago.
The resident was seated in his black 2007 Toyota Avalon at 12:15 a.m., July 11, near the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Lombard Avenue when he was ordered out of the vehicle by two men, one of whom was pointing a black semi-automatic handgun, who had just exited from a vehicle that pulled up next to the victim.
Instead of getting out of his Toyota Avalon, the Oak Park resident drove off. He later witnessed a traffic crash at Randolph Street and Ridgeland Avenue involving the two offenders, who fled from a gray 2020 Chevy Trax, which was reported stolen out of Chicago.
The stolen vehicle was recovered, and its owner was notified. However, police did not apprehend the two men, who are described by Oak Park police as Black males, between the ages of 15 and 20, of thin build and approximately 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-11 in height.
The armed offender reportedly has short dreadlocks and was last seen wearing a blue facemask and a blue hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, according to police. His companion was last seen wearing a black facemask with a red hooded sweatshirt that had “Hilfiger” emblazoned on the back.
Armed robbery and aggravated battery arrest
A 22-year-old resident of South Bend, Indiana, Dequan Fitch, was arrested after being positively identified as the offender who struck a victim in the back of the head with a black handgun and took that person’s cash in the 1000 block of North Boulevard at 10:16 a.m., July 7.
Aggravated vehicular hijacking
A rideshare driver was held at gunpoint and ordered out of his blue 2019 Honda Accord by a masked man who exited from a different vehicle at 1:48 a.m., July 6 in the 500 block of North Euclid Avenue; the victim turned over the key fob and the offender drove off in the victim’s Honda followed by the vehicle from which he had previously exited. The estimated loss is $25,000.
Burglary
A blue work bag containing a work badge, work keys, a computer mouse and a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop, was taken from an unlocked Kia Sportage parked in the 700 block of South Grove Avenue between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m., July 8. The estimated loss is $1,500.
Motor vehicle theft
The black 2017 Nissan Sentra being driven by a Door Dash delivery driver was taken while the driver was delivering an order to a customer in the 700 block of Van Buren Street at 8:04 p.m., July 6. A man wearing a gray hoodie was seen driving the Nissan southbound on Oak Park Avenue. The estimated loss of the vehicle is $15,000.
Theft
- The catalytic converter was cut from a Chevy pickup truck parked in the 1100 block of Wesley Avenue between 11 a.m., July 2 and 7:30 a.m., July 5.
- A Gucci belt, Louis Vuitton handbag and a gold chain were taken from the bedroom of a residence in the 600 block of Lake Street between 6 p.m., July 3 and 1 a.m., July 4. The estimated value of the loss is $3,590.
- Two catalytic converters were taken from a Toyota Prius parked in the 1000 block of North Harlem Avenue between 6 p.m., July 5 and 8:25 a.m., July 6.
- The catalytic converter was cut from a black Toyota Prius parked in the 900 block of West Washington Boulevard between 6 p.m., July 5 and 11:30 a.m., July 6.
- Two social security checks, worth a total of $1,466, were removed from an unsecured mailbox in the lobby of a building in the 100 block of South Harvey Avenue about 10:36 a.m., July 7.
Criminal property damage
- The front passenger’s side window of a blue 2007 Toyota Prius was shattered while it was parked in the 800 block of South Boulevard between 5 p.m., June 24 and 9:36 a.m., July 1. The estimated damage is worth $200.
These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports, June 6 through July 11, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.
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