Three large burglaries resulted in the theft of several electronics devices and a car from Evanston residences last week, but the rash of thefts is probably just a passing phase, police said.
“In the last two weeks, these cases have just hit us all at one time,” said Cmdr. Michael Perry of Evanston Police Department. “This happens sometimes, and it usually dies down. It’s hard to say when, though.”
According to police, one residence on the 2300 block of Asbury Avenue was robbed Jan. 22. A 1996 four-door Volvo sedan, a laptop, a cell phone, a wallet and house keys were stolen.
The perpetrator entered the home through an unlocked rear kitchen window between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., police said.
The second burglary occurred Jan. 23 on the 2200 block of Wesley Avenue. Electronics were taken from the property, including two laptops, a digital camera, a DVD player, a stereo and a Seiko gold watch, all with an estimated value of more than $7,800, Perry said.
The home-owner told police that the rear door looked suspicious when she returned from work. The case is still under investigation.
A laptop and two projectors valued at $7,000 were stolen from the College Board, 1560 Sherman Ave., sometime between Jan. 17 and Jan. 22. An employee returned from vacation to find the south door of the building damaged, Perry said.
The case is still under investigation.
None of the burglaries involved a forced entry, and all involved expensive electronics. Perry said there do not appear to be any connections between the three crimes.
“All burglaries are chance occurrences,” Perry said. “There is no way to pinpoint when they are going to occur.”
Mike Pearlman, a crime analyst for EPD, said he did not think the recent spell of burglaries is unusual enough to start investigating a trend.
“You think this is a lot,” Pearlman said. “Just wait until summer.”
