Man Steals $500 Lawnmower With Scam Receipt

Gerald Payne, 48, of West 87th Street, Chicago, was charged with Class 3 felony retail theft regarding a lawnmower.

Because of a spate of fraudulent returns of lawnmowers, a security agent was watching a man purchase a $499 Honda lawnmower from a home improvement store in the 8600 block of Dempster Street on May 18 just before 2:15 p.m. 

The security guard saw the man take the lawnmower to the parking lot, load it into his vehicle and hand the receipt to another man, later identified as Payne, police said. Payne brought the receipt into the store, selected the identical model lawnmower from the sales floor and, according to the report, wheeled it through the cashier line displaying the receipt and advising the cashier the lawnmower was already paid for. Police said he took the lawnmower past the last point of purchase. His court date is June 6 at the Skokie branch of the Cook County courts.

Parents have custody dispute after daughter breaks leg

Police responded to a call May 19 in the 9700 block of Fox Glen from a woman who said her daughter's father was upset because the daughter had broken her leg and could not go with the father for visitation, police said. The mother told them she could not take the daughter to the South Side of Chicago due to her medical condition. The father threatened legal action, according to the report, and the mother wanted to document that. Police contacted the father and both parties agreed to resolve the issue by having visitation at the mother's residence. 

Information is taken from reports.

Get Niles and Morton Grove news delivered in your email. It's free. Learn more.

Like Niles-Morton Grove Patch on Facebook for news and conversation.