Sunday, September 20, 2009

Car Vandalism Early This Morning


A reader who lives on the 900 block of Sunnyside sent in this report and photos:

I was woken at 2:54am by the sounds of men's voices speaking loudly and sometimes shouting on the street outside my home. I couldn't see anything from my windows, and I wasn't going to go outside! There was also the sound of things being smashed or hit -- I assumed the men were vandalizing cars. I called 911 and was told that others had called; police responded less than a minute later, and the disturbance stopped almost immediately, although I could hear what sounded like interviews and reports for about 45 minutes afterwards, and saw one woman go racing out of her unit immediately after the police arrived, presumably to go check on her car. I went down this morning, and located two cars on the northeast side of the block with broken back windshields, and Police Incident stickers from early this morning on the side windows. Pictures are attached -- I've blurred out the license plate numbers.

9 comments:

  1. Well, isn't that great. I'm getting sick to death of living in this city.

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  2. Resident, it happens everywhere, even in towns with populations under 50. Doesn't make it any less ugly, just universal.

    I'm hoping the cops found the little bastards who did it. Their quick response time makes me think they may have.

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  3. While I will agree that this stuff "happens everywhere" it is much more likely to happen in large urban areas. I'm surprised the city didn't determine the car was a "hazard" and tow it for a quick buck at the impound lot.

    I too am growing tired of the rampant crime, gangs, etc in this neighborhood and in the rest of the city.

    I hope the police caught them, but I am starting to think this whole catch and release program isn't working.

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  4. I have seen this type vandalizing done to numberous cars on a monthy basis North of Montrose on Clarendon. This is the first year it has happened so much. Nothing is stolen they are doing it here just for kicks I guess. Neighbors said it looks to be young teens in white t-shirts running toward the low income buildings on Clarendon and Wilson Area.

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  5. I too was one of those awakened at 3 am this morning by the commotion. I also called 911. To say these guys were shouting is an understatement, they were screaming at each other. To say these guys are animals is an insult to the entire animal kingdom.

    That car in the photo, both front and back windows were smashed as well as the entire hood. At least several hundred dollars in damage. A few other cars in the street also had smashed windows.

    A similar incident happened when I used to live on Racine/Wilson about 4 years ago. I personally had my windshield smashed in a similar fashion about 10 years ago when I lived in Ukranian Village. Unfortunately, it does happen fairly often. It is strictly vandalism, not theft.

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  6. God love 'em.....the ever present white tee-shirt prime-time players. Always reliably present on the Sunnyside Strip.
    As I've mentioned before.....a Realtor friend once said, "if you want to sell your place in Uptown....do it in the winter, when the criminals on the street are less present'

    So sad, and so true.

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  7. I think the real crime here is that you have to pay $5 to see the damn police "Incident" report.

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  8. Nash-
    It costs 50 cents to get a copy of a police report.

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  9. @Frustrated: Nash is correct - it's $5.00 for a copy of the report, as printed on the tag left by the police.

    I can verify this, as mine was one of the cars with its windshield smashed in.

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