Crime & Safety

OMG PD: A Look at Odd Crimes in Our Patch Region

This week: Stolen swans, a poorly executed crime and continued weirdness in Northbrook

Crime in Northbrook has taken a turn toward the scatological.

After a spate (okay, two) recent incidents of , police are now investigating another fecal crime. A Northbrook resident reported that someone rang her doorbell about 50 times around 1:15 a.m. When she came to the door, there was a box on the front steps filled with feces and urine, according to police.

Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Two decorative plastic swans were stolen from a Morton Grove garden.

Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Deerfield police pulled over a speeding car driven by a Chicago man around midnight on Aug. 3.

Inside the car, police said they found a pill bottle containing two bags of a green leafy substance that tested positive for cannabis. The driver first told police that he had a "prescription" for it but later claimed he didn't realize it was in his car.

Police also said they found a small bag filled with a white powdery substance in his front pocket, which tests determined was cocaine. According to the police report, the man, "denied knowing where the white powdery substance came from, even though it came out of his own pocket."

A Melrose Park man was charged with felony theft Aug. 6 for allegedly attempting to take three packages of K-Y Jelly and a Magic Jack telephone device from a River Forest Walgreens, police said.

A Skokie man was hospitalized after his pistol discharged a bullet into his right leg.

According to the police report, the man approached a car and asked the occupants to turn down their loud music. The couple ignored him and he got his pistol from his home to “scare” the couple by lifting his shirt and showing his gun, police said.

The irked resident never got to brandish the weapon. The vehicle's occupants said they heard a loud noise, which they thought it was a firecracker.

When police arrived they followed a trail of blood and found the man in his home with his pant leg “saturated with blood.” He told police he received the injury when he fell off the curb. Police asked him to pull up his pant leg, and officers found an entry wound above his right knee.

The police report noted that his blood alcohol level tested at .383 — more than four times the legal limit. He was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

An 18-year-old Glencoe resident ditched out on paying a cab fare but left his backpack in the taxi. 

In addition to containing the man's identification, the bag also contained a bong. The driver reported the incident to Wilmette police, who contacted the passenger and his father, eventually going to his home. When confronted, the man said he had the money, “but made a poor decision" and paid the $15 fare, as well as a $5 tip to the driver.

Police returned the backpack but not the bong.

Northbrook police responded to a woman who said she “felt like she was going to die.” They learned that the mother and daughter at the scene had just finished smoking pot.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.