Flossmoor Police Blotter: Sexual Graffiti, House Tour Finds Metal Theft

SUNDAY, JULY 10

Realtor, Prospective Buyer Discover Metal Theft

A Matteson realtor was showing a Flossmoor residence to a prospective buyer when the two discovered the house had been vandalized by a metal thief or thieves, police said. The Remax agent and her Palos Hills client arrived at the home in the 1100 block of Cambridge Avenue on Sunday and found large pieces of drywall ripped from studs in the laundry room, according to the report. The hot water heater was disconnected from pipes and knocked over in the laundry room, while in the upper level bathroom there was a hole in the tile wall that was approximately five feet tall and one foot wide, police said. In the master bedroom, there was a hole measuring four foot by one foot, according to the report. The officer who responded to the property crime scene noted that “there were copper pipes cut inside the wall, I could see the copper pipe cut, but it was unclear how much was missing." The out-of-state owner of the home, who bought it as investment property, was notified, police said. The theft could have happened as long ago as June 20.

THURSDAY, JULY 7

Flossmoor Businessman Grateful for Deadbolt

A Flossmoor businessman returned from a weeklong business trip to find that someone damaged his front door in the 1100 block of Elaine Court, police said. There were pry marks on the screen door, which was opened, but the sturdy deadbolt lock was still in place on the man's townhouse, police said. The man told police he was gone from his residence from June 30 until Thursday morning.

Police Don't Buy Gutter Tale

A Flossmoor man told police that a colorful street character named "Gutter" sold him a stolen phone, but officers didn't buy his story and he was charged with theft. Brandon Parker, 19, of the 1300 block of Emery Court, was charged in connection with a black Samsung cell phone taken from the car of a Flossmoor woman, according to the report. The victim told police her 2000 Volkswagon was parked outside her residence in the 3600 block of Elm Court when it was burglarized and her phone was stolen, police said. Parker told police he was accosted by a plump man with braids known only as "Gutter" as he walked in Country Club Hills, and that Gutter then sold him a "burn out" phone for $15, police said. Parker admitted to making multiple calls on that phone, according to the report. Parker has a court date of Aug. 26 in Markham Court.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6

Crude Sexual Graffiti on Area Signs

The Department of Public Works was kept busy removing crude, sexual graffiti from various Flossmoor signs, police said. On a sign in the 1600 block of Butterfield, a vandal wrote "Go Sk8" in blue paint, while a Baird and Warner real estate sign in the 1600 block of Butterfield Road was vandalized with a crude drawing of a woman's bosom, police said. Officers also discovered a drawing of male genitalia on a weight limit sign in the 1600 block of Butterfield Road, also drawn in the distinctive blue paint, according to the report.

MONDAY, JULY 4

Car Burglarized Outside Sertoma Center

A Blue Island man said someone burglarized his car parked near the Sertoma Center in the 1800 block of Cambridge Avenue. The man said he works nights, and he came out to his Dodge Stratus on Monday morning and discovered that items including his wallet, GPS, Kenwood faceplate for his CD player and his Earthquaker subwoofer were stolen from the vehicle, police said. Numerous bottles of men's cologne also were taken from the vehicle, according to the report.

FRIDAY, JUNE 17

Catalytic Converter Theft in Flossmoor Metra Lot

A Matteson man recently filed a delayed theft report to notify police of the loss of his catalytic converter. The man told police that he had parked his Toyota Sequoia at the south end of the Metra parking lot in Flossmoor around 7 a.m. on June 17, and when he returned to it around 6:30 p.m., he realized that a thief or thieves had stolen the catalytic converter. The man estimated the damage at approximately $1,300, police said.