All the crime that made you laugh and then lock your your door.
Jan. 27, 2009: ‘Satan’ escapes from mental hospital, found in Sargeant bathroom
A man referring to himself as ‘Satan’ escaped from an Evanston mental hospital and was found on Northwestern’s campus, University Police Assistant Chief Dan McAleer said.
UP went to Lisa’s Cafe after someone reported a man walking around outside the building. Before authorities arrived, the man, described as having a tattoo under his left eye and wearing a black jacket, a black hat and blue jeans, went to a Sargeant Hall first-floor men’s bathroom. There, police found him staring and pointing at himself in the mirror.
When officers asked the man his name, he responded with absurd answers such as “Satan,” McAleer said. Officers told him to keep his hands on the wall. The man repeatedly took his hands off the wall, after which the officers attempted to arrest him.
The man drew away, and the officers brought him to the ground, told him to stop resisting, handcuffed him and searched his body. They found a silver box cutter in his pocket.
Though the officers found not identification on the man, they discovered a piece of paper that suggested he was a patient at an Evanston mental hospital. McAleer declined to name the hospital.
When the mane was taken back to the station, authorities also found a cell phone with a contact labeled “Dad.” Officers called the number, and the man’s father said his son suffered from multiple mental illnesses. The father also confirmed his son was a patient at a mental hospital and had run away on several prior occasions, McAleer said.
Authorities returned the patient to the mental hospital after verifying his father’s statements. According to the hospital, the patient had been missing since Friday, McAleer said. The hospital did not know how the patient escaped.
It is not clear how the patient was able to enter Sargeant Hall.
– Chris Kirk
Feb. 4, 2009: Student tries driving with parking boot on, damages boot and car
A female NU student damaged her friend’s car when she tried to drive with a parking boot attached to the wheel Monday afternoon, police said.
An NU parking officer put the boot on the white Toyota Camry because it was illegally parked in the Engelhart Hall parking lot, McAleer said. The car’s owner had several unpaid tickets.
The 19-year-old female told police that she returned to the car at 3:40 p.m. and found a parking ticket under the windshield wiper and an immobilization notice on the driver side window, but she did not see the boot on the left rear tire
The student attempted to drive the car away and shattered the left rear hubcap. She also damaged the parking boot.
The woman contacted the owner of the car and paid $350 to replace the damaged boot, police said.
The owner spoke with NU parking officials, but she refused to pay the outstanding parking tickets, police said. According to McAleer, North Shore Towing Company impounded her car.
– Mike Walton
Oct. 27, 2009: Six painted men streak past Tech, one vomits
Six men ran without any clothes past the Technological Institute on Friday afternoon, police said.
Officers on patrol saw the six men, five of whom were Northwestern students, run onto Tech Drive around 4:40 p.m. Friday, said University Police Deputy Chief Dan McAleer. None of them was wearing any clothes. McAleer said he heard the men were painted head to toe in purple.
Police stopped the men, who told police a lost bet led to their streaking.
While police stopped the men, one student began to vomit, McAleer said.
The student told police he may have contracted the H1N1 virus from a family member.
Student Affairs and Student Health Service were notified. All six men were issued Evanston municipal code violations for indecent exposure.
– Katie Park
April 8, 2010: Trespasser takes computer, leaves ham and crackers
University Police believe a suspicious person reported at the Music Administration Building on Tuesday may also have been involved in a burglary at a sorority house the same day, authorities said.
UP responded to a suspicious person complaint at 11:40 a.m. on Tuesday from someone in an office on the first floor the Music Administration Building, 711 Elgin Road, UP Deputy Chief Dan McAleer said. According to the complaint, a male subject opened the door, saw people inside the room and quickly walked away. The complainant repeatedly asked the individual if he needed help, but the man didn’t answer and continued walking downstairs to the ground level.
Earlier in the day, UP responded to another suspicious person complaint at Delta Zeta, 717 University Place, McAleer said. After the sorority house cook heard someone ring the doorbell around 10:30 a.m., he used a remote control to open a side door, at which point an unknown male subject entered the house.
“The cook said he’s been working in the house for 10 years and did not recognize the subject,” McAleer said.
The cook tried to identify the subject, who ran upstairs, but he could not locate him, McAleer said. The cook then contacted UP, who conducted an unsuccessful search of the house and surrounding area.
A resident of the sorority house reported at 12:30 p.m. that between 9:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., someone entered her unlocked room on the second floor without her consent when she was out of the room and removed her Sony VAIO computer and power cord from her desk. In their place, the student found a package of ham and crackers she said does not belong to her.
McAleer said UP are investigating and believe they have video footage showing the subject walking south through the sorority quad around 10 a.m.
– S.K. Dachowitz
May 27, 2010: Woman’s wallet stolen by couple after helping rescue their turtle from street
An Evanston woman believes a couple stole her wallet after she helped them rescue a turtle from a roadway, police said.
The woman told police she was walking east on the 400 block of Greenleaf Street when she came across a man and woman, both in their mid-30s, “acting frantically over an abandoned turtle,” Evanston Police Department Cmdr. Tom Guenther said.
The woman said she placed her backpack on the ground and picked up the turtle to move it out of the street. The woman said she believes one of the two people stole her wallet while her backpack was on the ground, Guenther said.
The wallet containe
d a driver’s license, IDs and a gift car, Guenther said.
-S.K. Dachowitz
May 3, 2011: Jellybeans stolen from Relay for Life sidewalk fundraiser
Police received a walk-in report Sunday regarding a stolen jar of jellybeans, Evanston Cmdr. Tom Guenther said.
The person reported that she was fundraising for Relay for Life on the 1700 block of Sherman Avenue by having people guess how many jellybeans were in a jar. While she was working, five or six boys filled out cards with names and email addresses. Afterward, one grabbed the jar of jellybeans off the table and ran away with it, Guenther said.
The police have yet to determine if the information provided on the cards is factual.
-Susan Du
Sept. 28, 2011: Man stashes alcohol in waistband of pants
An Evanston man attempted to steal $91.25 worth of alcohol Tuesday evening at Sam’s Club, 2450 Main St.
A complainant reported he saw a man place multiple bottles of alcohol into the waistband of his pants, Evanston Police Department Cmdr. Tom Guenther said. As he passed the last point of purchase without paying, the man was apprehended and taken into custody.
– Maria Baradzina
Nov. 11, 2011: Car burglarized for $4, police do not plan to investigate
A 60-year-old woman whose vehicle was parked in the 400 block of Lake Street contacted EPD when she discovered her Lexus SUV had been illegally entered Wednesday.
She estimated $4 in change had been taken.
EPD Cmdr. Tom Guenther said there was no sign of forced entry to the vehicle and that police were “probably not going to follow up.”
– Susan Du
Jan. 12, 2012: Thief steals Louis Vuitton purse, cookies
A package delivered to a building in the 1900 block of Sherman Avenue containing an $820 brown Louis Vuitton purse and $23 worth of cookies of unspecified flavor was reported stolen Tuesday.
Evanston Police Department spokesman Cmdr. Jay Parrott said the package went missing Dec. 7 but was not reported until Tuesday.
Parrott said the package was taken “soon after it was dropped off.”
That time was somewhere between 4:30 and 7 p.m.
There was no description available for the suspect.
– Marshall Cohen
Feb. 13, 2012: Cigar theft at 7-Eleven
A clerk at 7-Eleven, 847 N. Dodge Ave., reported a cigar theft Thursday.
Police in the area found a man with the cigar and recovered it, Evanston Police Department spokesman Cmdr. Jay Parrott said. The clerk decline to file a complaint.
– Jia You
March 2, 2012: Flower pot set ablaze on Evanston woman’s porch
A flower pot on the porch of an Evanston woman’s porch in the 1900 block of Emerson Street was set on fire Wednesday afternoon, Evanston Police Department spokesman Jay Parrott said.
The 71-year-old homeowner noticed the pot on fire and extinguished it. Parrott said that fire department came to make sure the fire was properly extinguished, and Evanston police filed a report.
It is believed someone set fire to the pot, Parrott said. However, he also said at this time there are no suspects.
In addition, Parrott said how the fire started remains unknown. Although police think someone set fire to the pot, the fire may not have been started by anyone at all, he said.
– Tanner Maxwell
Compiled by Elise De Los Santos.
