Crime News Update

Editor's note: The crime news reported by the Southwest Chicago Post---taken directly from Chicago Police Department incident reports---is not by any means an exhaustive catalogue of all crime reported in the Chicago Lawn (8th) District. For example, it typically does not include news of crimes committed in the eastern and southern sectors of the district---because the Southwest Chicago Post's coverage area is primarily the neighborhoods that border Midway Airport and secondarily because including the relatively large volume of crime news from elsewhere in the district would be a logistical challenge. We make this note to offer a little helpful perspective and remind everyone that while crime is definitely a concern in all parts of the district (as it always has been), crime remains relatively low overall in Sector 1. May all of us work together diligently to keep it that way. May all of us also remember that a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Two South Side men, said by police to be admitted gangbangers, were arrested and

Blaise M. Smith

charged with unlawful use of a weapon when they were apprehended near 79th and Springfield at 5:26 p.m. Saturday, April 25.

Police said that Dante Thomas, 21, of 73rd and Greenwood, and Blaise M. Smith, 22, of 76th and Kingston, were part of a crowd of nearly 100 people attending a gang-related wake at the Southwest Memorial Chapels funeral home (formerly McInerney & Sons) at 7901 S. Komensky.

Police said the crowd flashed gang signs at police and passersby, many shouting “F~ck the police! They killed JJ!” 

Dante Thomas

Police said that the guns they confiscated from Thomas and Smith were loaded, and one was reported stolen from Tennessee.

Bond was set at $350,000 for each man. Smith is due in court at 51st and Wentworth on May 5, and Thomas is set to appear on May 15.

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Want to work directly with Chicago Police to prevent crime in your neighborhood? If you live in Beat 815 or 821 (see map), come to St. Bruno School (south entrance) at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 6. Hear updates on crime in your neighborhood and learn how you can work with neighbors and police to make the community safer and better for all.

A pregnant woman told police that a man kicked her in the stomach during an argument in a parking lot at Ford City Mall, 7601 S. Cicero. The 29-year-old South Side woman said the incident occurred at about 10 p.m. Friday, April 24. She reported it to police about 12 hours later, because she said she was having contractions. She was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The victim described the attacker as a Hispanic man age 23, 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair and a dark complexion.

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A 43-year-old Scottsdale woman told police that another woman threatened her with a handgun while she was driving her car near 83rd and Cicero at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 28. The victim said the offender pulled alongside her in a 2000-05 Buick LeSabre and threatened to kill her—saying, “B~tch, I told you I was going to kill you”--before speeding away south on Cicero. The victim told police she had never seen the offender, described only as a black woman age 40-45.

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Two men employed by a towing company told police that a man from a rival company pointed a gun at them and made a verbal threat at 12:40 a.m. Wednesday, April 29 on the street near 55th and Keeler. The victims gave the offender’s name to police, who are following up.

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A 27-year-old Scottsdale man told police that someone broke through the rear window of his home near 78th and Komensky and stole an iPad, a pair of Beats headphones, an Xbox video game console, a bottle of Gucci Guilty cologne, three pairs of Nike Air Jordans and about $25 in loose coins. The crime was discovered by the victim at about 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 29.

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Burglars cut through a chain-link fence at the north end of a storage yard belonging to 2-in-1 Construction, 4344 W. 45th St., and stole a Bobcat vehicle and an undetermined amount of steel rebar. The crime was discovered by an employee at 7 a.m. Monday, April 27.

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Burglars forced open the rear door of a home near 63rd and Kilpatrick and stole assorted jewelry, two cameras, an iPad, a cell phone, a TV, a Yamaha music keyboard, $2,000 cash and about $300 in Mexican currency. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 43-year-old man, when he came home from work at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 30.

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Burglars entered a garage near 44th and Komensky and stole a bicycle and a lawnmower. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 47-year-old woman, at 5:30 a.m. Monday, April 27.

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Burglars tried but failed to break into a home near 51st and Newland. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 32-year-old woman, at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 27. The home’s door was damaged, and the CPD incident report did not speculate on how or why the crime had been interrupted.

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Burglars forced open the service door of a garage near 60th Place and Lawndale and stole a generator, a snow blower, a TV, 24 units of women’s hair care products and 24 bottles of Irish Spring liquid soap. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 45-year-old man, at about 4 a.m. Wednesday, April 22. He told police that he had left the garage’s service door unlocked.

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Burglars pried open the front door of an apartment near 87th and Kostner and stole a camera, two camera flash units, two camera lenses, three memory cards, batteries, battery chargers, cables and a TV. The crime was discovered by the victim, a 31-year-old man, at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25.

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