Oct. 27, 2009: 6 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.

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.

April 11, 2010: Firefighters respond to burning couch in Ashbury Avenue alleyway

The Evanston fire department extinguished flames from a burning couch in the rear alley on the 1300 block of Asbury Avenue on Sunday morning, authorities said.

Fire officials also found two other locations on the block with burning debris, which they also extinguished, Evanston Police Department Cmdr. Tom Guenther said.

“The fires were easily extinguished with no additional loss to property,” Guenther said. Evanston police officers joined fire officials at the scene at 2 a.m., but they still do not know who is responsible, Guenther said.

An investigation is pending.

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 contained a driver’s license, IDs and a gift car, Guenther said.

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.

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.

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.

April 20, 2012: Senior citizen loses pricey wallpaper

An Evanston senior citizen reported losing $10,000 worth of wallpaper Wednesday.

A thief allegedly took four boxes of handmade wallpaper from the first-floor meeting room of The Mather retirement home, 425 Davis St., between December and February, said Evanston Police Department spokesman Cmdr. Jay Parrott.

October 15, 2012: Mountain bike valued at $5,000 stolen

A black, 21-inch Schwinn mountain bike with stripes was stolen from a 31-year-old Evanston resident.

The bike, valued at an estimated $5,000, was locked to a bike storage rack on the 600 block of Main Street when it was stolen sometime Thursday. The police have no suspects, Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said.

October 23, 2012: Rash of flattened tires across Evanston

Since Friday, more than 20 incidences of flattened car tires have been reported to the Evanston Police Department, said Cmdr. Jay Parrott.

Between 8 p.m. Friday and 11:30 a.m. Saturday, 11 people reported flattened tires on their cars. The affected vehicles were parked on the street or in residential driveways. Three cars were damaged in the 2200 block of Sherman Avenue, four in the 2300 block of Sherman Avenue, one in the 700 block of Colfax Street, one in the 2200 block of Orrington Avenue and one in the 2300 block of Orrington Avenue. Four tires were punctured, one had a screw in it, and the others were flattened through unknown means.

Parrott added that 11 more reports of flattened tires came in Monday morning. EPD is investigating the situation and looking at video surveillance from the affected areas.

April 21, 2013: Everything but dog food allegedly stolen from Evanston woman’s packages

An Evanston woman’s packages were discovered at a wrong address Thursday with most of their contents stolen, Parrott said.

A resident in the 800 block of Elmwood Avenue told police two opened Amazon boxes were mistakenly outside his or her home, Parrott said. Police contacted the intended recipient of the boxes, a woman who lives in the 1100 block of Ashland Avenue, Parrott said.

The stolen items included coffee, lotion, hair conditioner and hair gel, totaling about $60, Parrott said. Whoever took the items, however, did not take the packages of dog food the woman ordered.

Police returned the dog food to the woman, Parrott said.

May 19, 2013: Youngsters jump on cars on Asbury Avenue

A group of young people Wednesday damaged five cars parked on Asbury Avenue, Evanston police said.

Witnesses reported a group of people who appeared to be in their late teens, possibly college-aged, jumped from car to car between 11 p.m. and midnight in the 2500 block of Asbury Avenue, Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said.

The group dented five car roofs, damaging a 2000 Buick, a 2004 Saab, a 2005 Toyota, a 2009 Honda and a 2010 Chrysler, Parrott said.

June 10, 2013: 100 pounds of pot found in recycling receptacle

An Evanston resident found about 100 pounds of marijuana in their recycling container Saturday, according to police.

After the resident tipped them off, police said they pulled nine packages of pot worth more than $100,000 in total out of the receptacle in the 1000 block of Brown Avenue.

The resident stumbled upon the stash after noticing their container was not where they usually put it, Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said.

Police are investigating the possible origin and destination of the marijuana.