Attempt to toast tortilla starts fire, student able to extinguish flames
A tortilla caught fire when a Northwestern student tried to toast it, police said.
The student was cooking the tortilla in a toaster oven in the third floor kitchenette of the Ayers College of Commerce and Industry, 2324 Campus Drive, around 7:15 p.m., University Police Assistant Chief Dan McAleer said.
The tortilla caught on fire, and the student used a fire extinguisher to put it out, he said. The fire did not activate the smoke detector.
A community assistant called police, who arrived at CCI and called Facilities Management to clean up, replace the fire extinguisher and check the smoke detector.
Man steals tote bag full of books and CDs from Borders store
A man stumbled out of Borders with a tote bag brimming with stolen books and CDs on Sunday, authorities said.
The man, described as 6 feet 2 inches tall, thin, with black hair and wearing jeans, a white puffy coat and a black knit cap, browsed through the store, 1700 Maple Ave., around 8:40 p.m.
As he went around, he stuffed the bag with store merchandise, Evanston Police Department Cmdr. Tom Guenther said.
The manager saw him walk out the front door carrying the bag. The man stumbled while he was exiting, spilling stolen books and CDs on the ground, Guenther said. He gathered the items and fled.
The manager does not know the quantity or value of the stolen goods, Guenther said.
Police are investigating.
Two men try to steal boy’s iPod, make off with only headphones
Two men shoved a 15-year-old boy to the ground to steal his iPod on Thursday. The boy fought back, and thieves were only able to snatch his headphones, police said.
The boy, an Evanston resident, was walking near the intersection between Church Street and Florence Avenue when two men approached him, Guenther said. The boy described them as between 16 and 18 years old and wearing black and gray sweatshirts.
“Give me your stuff,” one of the men reportedly said, grabbing the boy’s headphones.
The other man pushed the boy over and tried to rummage through his pockets for the boy’s cell phone and iPod, Guenther said. The boy was not seriously harmed.
Police are investigating.
– Chris Kirk
