Crime & Safety

Man Beats Estranged Uncle, Who Didn't Recognize Him, Police Say

The man angrily approached his uncle, whom he hadn't seen in 25 years, police said.

 

Lee Lee, 47, of Savoy, Ill., was charged with battery Oct. 8 after an incident that happened in Civic Center Plaza on Oct. 1. A 69-year-old male victim and his 62-year-old wife were leaving a store and Lee approached them, yelling and telling the male victim he was upset with him and had no respect for him, according to police. The male victim did not recognize Lee and asked him who he was, and Lee identified himself as the son of the victim's sister. 

Lee became increasingly irate and placed his hands around the victim's neck as if to choke him, according to the report. The victim's wife called out for someone to phone police, but no one was around except two people accompanying Lee. The wife was able to get control of the situation and get the victim into their car, but Lee continued yelling at them even after they were in their car, according to police.

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Neither the victim nor his wife speak English well enough to describe the events to police, so their son, 41, of Skokie, translated. After the incident, the son made some phone calls to try to figure out who the assailant was, and finally determined it was Lee, police said. The son called Lee, and Lee yelled at and cursed at the son on the phone, told him it was none of his business, made numerous threats and said he knew where his business was and would show up there, according to the report.

Niles police phoned Lee, and he told them he is very upset with his uncle, whom he has not seen in 25 years. He said the uncle did not attend his mother's funeral, which took place more than five years ago, and that upset him. Lee admitted putting his hands around the victim's neck, police said.

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Police told Lee to come to the Niles Police Station and turn himself in, and he did so on Oct. 8. His court date is Oct. 23 in the Skokie branch of the Cook County courts. 

Diamond earrings worth $16,800 missing

On Oct. 9, a 47-year-old Chicago woman told police that she visited a spa in the 800 block of Civic Center Plaza on Aug. 28 and placed her two 18 karat gold earrings, each of which contained a 1.2 carat diamond, in a locker in the women's locker room, according to the report. The woman said she locked the locker and that when she returned, there were no signs of forced entry and the locker was still locked, police said. The woman told police she didn't notice if the earrings were still in the locker or not when she opened it upon returning; however, she  said she left her locker open while she was changing and getting ready in the locker room, occasionally walking away from the open locker. The victim believes someone removed the earrings from the locker while she had it opened, police said. The victim said that before leaving the locker room to go home, she remembers checking and making sure the locker was empty. She did not realize the earrings were missing until the next day, when she noticed she was not wearing them. The victim stated the appraised value of the earrings is $16,800.

Information is taken from Niles Police Department reports.


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