Thursday, January 2, 2014

Be Alert Out There

A reader writes:  "A friend witnessed an elderly man being assaulted and robbed on Kenmore earlier. He screamed for help, but the weather and snow prevented anyone from reaching him in time. The thugs and criminals take advantage of this weather because it slows police response time and there are very few witnesses on the streets."

The blog Crime In Wrigleyville + Boystown reported on the incident:

"... witnesses reported seeing a group of five to six black men in their early 20's kicking and punching a man who had been carrying grocery bags in the 4100 block of Kenmore. That man was also being robbed.  Officers quickly tracked a group of suspects down at the Sheridan Red Line station. At least two of the suspects were arrested after being positively identified by the Kenmore victim. [...]  The offenders are believed to have entered the area via the Red Line about 30 minutes before the first robbery."

The victim of another robbery allegedly committed by the same group wrote to the Wrigleyville blog with some advice everyone would be wise to heed:
Things I think I've learned: don't walk with headphones in, don't get kinda trapped on the slushy sidewalk where you can't get any traction and move quickly.

9 comments:

  1. This happened right across from where I live-poor man was screaming and no one could get over to him in time because of the weather.The poor man was covered in snow where they were wrestling him on the ground.We need more patrols on this street seeing alot of groups of these kind of guys walking around area.

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  2. And this was the middle of the afternoon!

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  3. Roberta, I've been told that the way you get more patrols is to a) go to your CAPS monthly beat meetings and make your voice heard; and b) call 911--the more calls they get for a given area, the more police presence is assigned. Talk with your neighbors around you, and encourage them to call 911--it matters that the calls are coming in from more than one or two people, too.

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  4. I'd be willing to bet that the punks were young,in their late teens or early twenties, and were from another neighborhood

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  5. "don't get kinda trapped on the slushy sidewalk where you can't get any traction and move quickly."
    Wow. Pretty much impossible to do when some businesses and residents don't shovel. Most are great but the new Sonic needs to start doing maintenance on their new sidewalks now. Also having lived here for over 15 years I have noticed that a lot of the new condo buildings are the last to shovel.

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  6. I agree with you both The Hive and Fearless----I have lived in this area all my life and yes alot of strangers in area and I have noticed also how many condo buildings do not shovel.

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  7. For most of the business district, including Sonic, there is an SSA in place that is responsible for sidewalks with more than 2" of snow. In the past, snow has been cleared by CleanSlate. If you have any problems with snow on the main business routes, in front of Sonic or any other business, you can contact Wally at Uptown United.

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  8. Many condo buildings are self-managed and don't have the luxury of paid staff to clean up after their residents AND passersby. That being said, it's no excuse to leave sidewalks illegally covered with snow and ice. Some of the newer buildings may not know better, so if you see that being a problem, why not stop someone you see coming or going from the building and tell them, "Hey, you know that the City requires your building to clear the snow and ice off the public sidewalk? Let the other people in your building know so you won't have the City come after you." That's a far better way to build community and good relations than it is to simply report them and waste time and money in the city bureaucracy. If they don't do anything after that, THEN report them.

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