Evanston Police Conduct Stolen Vehicle Investigation

City of Evanston, Illinois sent this bulletin at 08/25/2016 04:11 PM CDT

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Evanston Police Department Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2016

Contact: Commander Joseph Dugan - Media Relations
Phone:   (847) 866-5026

email: jdugan@cityofevanston.org

EVANSTON POLICE CONDUCT STOLEN VEHICLE INVESTIGATION  

On Wednesday, August 24, 2016, at approximately 9:00 PM, members of the Evanston Police Department Tactical Unit conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the Jewel Foods parking lot in the 2400 block of Howard Street.  The vehicle, which was occupied by a male driver and female passenger initially stopped but when the officers exited their squad car, the vehicle took off to the rear of the Target store where the occupants abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.  A computer check of the vehicle revealed it to have been reported stolen out of Robbins, Illinois and further advised that at the time of theft there was a firearm inside the vehicle.  The female passenger who is 19 years old and a resident of Chicago was located hiding in bushes near the vehicle.  

Officers checked the vehicle for the firearm that was reported to be inside at the time of the theft, but did not locate it.  The Evanston police canine tracked a scent from the vehicle to James Park, in the 300 block of Dodge Avenue and searched the park with the assistance of the Chicago Police helicopter.  Service to the Chicago Transit Authority Yellow Line was also temporarily disrupted, while officers searched the area around the tracks for the suspect.  The suspect was not located during the search.  

The female passenger was released without charges after the owner of the vehicle declined to press charges.  Tactical officers are continuing their investigation into the incident and have significant information on the identity of the driver that fled.  Officers did not observe the offender with a firearm during the incident.     

Anyone with information is asked to call the Evanston Police Department at (847) 866-5000 or by using Text-A-Tip at CRIMES (274637) and entering EPDTIP in the message line with the tip information.