Saturday, December 21, 2024   |   View in browser

Weekly Deployment Meeting Highlights

In this post, a community member who sits in on the Evanston Police
Department’s weekly Deployment Meeting, shares notes on the topics discussed and writes about public safety matters of interest to people who work or live in Evanston.

On the Naughty List

Two of the guns recovered this week

While patrolling the south end of town, officers observed two subjects smoking cannabis. They conducted a street stop near the intersection of Custer and Mulford.

One of the men gave two different birth dates, and, owing to his shifty behavior, officers were able to secure him in handcuffs. An officer safety pat-down was performed, and a loaded SCT-19 handgun with no serial number, along with a 40-round magazine (containing 16 rounds), was removed from his person. The man’s companion, who cops surmised was planning to flee, was also secured, and during his pat-down, officers recovered a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm, which turned out to be stolen out of Burbank. Both men were charged with aggravated UUW (unlawful use of a weapon), no FOID (firearm owner’s identification) card, and no CCL (concealed carry license).

Crimes like the one described above, along with domestic incidents, were this week’s most troubling incidents. According to the Crime Analyst, package theft reports, as expected, are on the rise.

Weekly Crime Map

Click to enlarge

Deployment Presentation – December 18, 2024 

Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon

On Dec. 17, officers were patrolling Beat 72 in an effort to suppress catalytic converter and vehicle burglaries when they observed an occupied vehicle in the 700 block of Seward with only its taillights illuminated.

The windows were partially open, so officers easily detected the unmistakable odor of cannabis emanating from inside. Weed was in plain view, so all three occupants were asked to exit the vehicle. While looking inside, officers observed an empty 31-round magazine sticking out of the pocket on the front passenger seat. Officers then looked under the front passenger seat and recovered a loaded handgun (later reported stolen out of Fort Wayne, Indiana) with 22 rounds of ammunition inside an extended magazine. One man was charged with aggravated UUW under 21, no FOID card or CCL.

Arrests

Four individuals were arrested for retail theft this week. Retail thefts have become more consequential now that any theft over $300 can be charged as a felony.

Deceptive Practice

EPD received a report on Dec. 11 that an elderly victim received an email from the “Best Buy Geek Squad” informing her that she needed to renew her computer’s security protection. Then “Ian Hedling from the FTC” contacted her by phone and told her to send a large (very large) cashier’s check. Fortunately, the victim’s bank intervened.

Domestic Battery

• A Special Watch was issued Dec. 16 for a residence where an ex-partner had been calling and threatening the victim. The offender, a parolee, attacked the victim, who remains in fear for her safety, last summer.
• On Dec. 13, officers were called to a residence for an in-progress domestic battery. There, a man attempting to evade justice battered a relative and her boyfriend before fleeing the scene with his young son. Officers located the assailant and the child in a nearby vehicle. Further investigation revealed that the offender was in violation of an out-of-state OOP. He was charged with misdemeanor battery and child endangerment.

Graffiti

Officers responded to a call of graffiti at the Metra station. They observed approximately 20 instances of “FREE GAZA” written in red and green on the north and south walls of Sherman Avenue. The wall across the street on Sherman also had “Free Gaza” spray-painted in the same color.

Motor Vehicle Burglary

• The window of a 2000 Mercedes was shattered and cash taken in the 700 block of Case on Dec. 17.
• Clothing was taken from a 2019 Jeep parked in a parking garage in the 1200 block of Chicago on Dec. 16.
• A backpack and a computer were taken from a 2012 Toyota in the 100 block of Callan on Dec. 14.

Motor Vehicle Theft

Attempted

• The owner of a 2014 Infiniti Q50 heard his car alarm sounding Dec. 18 in the 300 block of Custer. He observed two males running from the car and entering a black BMW. He reported that the sunroof was broken and that there were marks around the stop/start button.

Stolen

• A 2017 Dodge Durango from the 100 block of Callan on Dec. 17. The vehicle was seen later on Flock cameras in Evanston and Harwood Heights.
• A 2018 Ford F650 and trailer rented and not returned from a U-Haul store in the 2100 block of Dempster on Dec. 13.
• A 2015 Infiniti Q50 from the 200 block of Callan on Dec. 11.

Package Theft

• On Dec. 16, merchandise from the 1600 block of Ridge and the 1200 block of Chicago.
• On Dec. 14, clothing from the 500 block of Keeney.
• On Dec. 12, personal hygiene products from the 1200 block of Dempster.

Storage Unit Burglary

A unit in the storage facility of a building in the 900 block of Washington was burglarized. The owner of the unit wasn’t able to determine if anything was missing.

Weapons-Related

Person with a Gun – A person of interest has been identified through security camera footage in an incident that occurred in the 300 block of Custer on Dec. 9. A person with a firearm was seen running up the back porch stairs of an apartment building there.

Shots Fired

• An unknown female reported two individuals shooting at each other in the Howard Street Jewel parking lot on Dec. 15. The grocery store’s security team and video footage confirmed the fact that no such incident occurred and that the call was a hoax.
• On Dec. 13, EPD received a call for shots fired in the 1500 block of Hinman. The area was checked with negative results.

Random Notes

• Through Jan. 2, law enforcement across Illinois will show zero tolerance for impaired driving to keep our roads safe and help ensure a happy holiday season. Check out EPD’s tips for driving safe here.
• Here’s a new term for you: ATM Jackpotting. Recently, a NORTAF Burglary Task Force alerted North Shore communities to a vehicle associated with “ATM Jackpotting” events. Here’s what it is: One or two crooks use a key to access the inside of an ATM and install a foreign device that allows them to assume control of the ATM. It’s called jackpotting because the machine dispenses up to 40 or more bills pretty much like a slot machine would.
• Keep up the good work, tobacco sellers: Compliance checks were performed at 34 Evanston businesses last week to determine if local tobacco product retailers are complying with the minimum-age tobacco laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 21. There were no violations and no citations issued.
• It’s not goodbye; it’s just “See you in 2025.” Deployment Meetings fall on Christmas and New Year’s Day this year, so there will be no Deployment Meetings and no INSIDER. We’ll return to your inbox Jan. 11.
• Thanks as always to our helpers at EPD. And Happy New Year to all!

Inquiring Minds: From the Case Files: A Murder Spree Ends in Evanston

Alton Coleman and Debra Brown

On July 12, 1984, serial rapist/killer Alton Coleman was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. A national manhunt was launched to capture Coleman and his companion, Debra Brown.

Just eight days later, the pair was arrested in Mason Park by EPD officers, following a two-month crime spree that left eight people dead, including three children, and took the couple from Wisconsin to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and eventually right here in Evanston.

An Evanston resident who had lived in Waukegan (where the killers resided) recognized Coleman as he and Brown crossed the street and then called EPD from a gas station. Four EPD officers arrived at the scene and worked in pairs to apprehend Coleman and Brown, who attempted to walk away. They were taken into custody without incident and identified by their fingerprints at EPD HQ.

A multi-state coalition of police was formed to determine how to best prosecute the couple. Authorities settled on Ohio as the first state to begin prosecuting them both. Brown and Coleman were eventually sentenced to death. Each made multiple unsuccessful appeals to have their sentences overturned.

The remorseless Coleman was executed by lethal injection on April 26, 2002, while Brown was awaiting her execution date. Her sentence was eventually commuted to life in prison in Ohio, based on assessments of her low cognitive functioning, which was also the basis of her unsuccessful defense. Twenty-four at the time of her 53-day crime spree, she is 61 years old today.

Send us your questions. What would you like to know? We’ll respond with an answer in the next issue or two. Comments and suggestions are welcome too. Contact us here.

The weekly deployment report is an informational bulletin prepared by a community member that keeps citizens informed about what police do on a weekly basis. Information contained in this report is not to be considered as a media/press release. Any information considered by a media source from this bulletin needs to be verified by an official from the department. This can be done by contacting the media line at 847-866-5026.