Stores hit by liquor thefts

      Buffalo Grove police responded to several incidents involving theft of liquor from grocery stores. Incidents include:

 ** A Franklin Park woman was charged with two counts of retail theft after she allegedly swiped three six-bottle cases of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey from the Jewel-Osco, 79 N. McHenry Road. Police reports say they woman, Angelique Mariah Payne, 20, put the cases, with a total value of $863. in a shopping cart and tried to load them in her car. Reports say she apparently tried to conceal the liquor by outing two boxes of diapers on top of them. In a second case, a Chicago man, Cesar Gerardo Munoz-Torres, 37, was charged with one count of retail theft after he allegedly stole four cases of beer from the Jewel-Osco.

 ** In another incident, police were summoned to Woodman’s Foods, 1550 Deerfield Parkway, in response to a report of a man who reportedly was observed on surveillance camera video in the Liquor Department putting eight bottles of tequila into his jacket and exiting the store without paying for the alcohol.

Reports say the man was observed putting the bottles of alcohol into the car. But wait, there’s more. According to police the man re-entered and headed to the frozen food section where video surveillance showed the man take four 32-ounce bags of frozen crab legs and then walked toward the back of the store where he placed the four bags into his coat. Surveillance showed the man again seen walking out of the store without paying for the items and head towards the same vehicle in the parking lot.

Police say that prior to reaching the vehicle, a store employee confronted the ab about the theft. The man allegedly told the employee he was hungry and returned one of the bags of frozen crab legs.

He then got into his vehicle and left. The stolen tequila and frozen crab legs totaled $489.01. Nice lunch.

Man faces drug charges -- A Buffalo Grove man was charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance after an officer was notified by a customer at the Shell station at 1200 N. Arlington Heights Rd., who said they observed a male stumbling through the parking lot and get into a car. Reports say the officer observed the passenger in the front passenger seat of the vehicle to be breathing but non-responsive. We requested medical to check on the passenger.

Officers were told by the driver that his passenger was passed out. Officers reported a “strong odor of cannabis inside the vehicle” as well as observing a small container of cannabis concentrate on the seat between the legs of the passenger.

When asked by police why there was an odor of cannabis in the vehicle, the man, identified as Noah Karpman, 24, why the vehicle had a cannabis odor and if there was anything illegal inside the vehicle. Reports says Karpman denied having anything illegal inside the vehicle or in his possession. During a pat-down by officers, which Karpman consented to, officers found a small bottle in a bag that contained pills that police later identified as Alprazolam, a generic of Xanax.

Police found nine additional Alprazolam pills during the search

Google search results in fraud – Police say a resident was scammed out of nearly $6,000 after he contacted what he thought was legitimate Apple Care after searching for the number using Google to find the phone number. Thinking he had a legitimate phone number, the resident spoke with someone named "Steve" who asked for the man’s debit card number and asked him to go get $1,600.00 in Google Play cards. The man told police he provided the card numbers to “Steve” and noticed a $1,000 taken from his bank account. A few days later, the man noticed three more transfers in the amount of $999, $1,600 and $2,399.00 were taken from his bank account. The told police he did not authorize these transfers and once he realized it was a scam, he called his bank.

Bogus bills – Staff at the Walgreens at 15 N. Buffalo Grove Road told police a customer asked for $200 to be loaded onto an American Express gift card. Reports say the man handed the employee what appeared to be three $100 bills. When the employee looked at the bills, she noticed the bills had the watermark that belonged on a $10 bill and the bills had no texture to them.

The employee summoned her manager who also looked at the bills and saw the watermark that belonged on a $10 bill instead of a $100 bill.

When asked about the bills, the man took them and left the store. A similar incident was reported to police by staff a Woodman’s Foods. The person in question fit a similar description and as was the case at Walgreens, the currency in question were $10 bills trying to be passed off as $100 bills.

He wants them to pump him up – A Wheeling man was warned by Buffalo Grove Police to stop calling an area health facility after he reportedly called and asked a staff member if they could him get bigger muscles. He reportedly called back later and asked if the treatment center could help him with male enhancement. Use your imagination. Police were able to retrieve the number and when they called the man, he allegedly told police he thought the treatment center could help him. He agreed to stop calling.

 

COMMUNITY NEWS

Village Board meeting set

The Buffalo Grove Village Board will hold a committee of the whole meeting starting at n 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb.1. Residents can watch the meeting on Zoom by accessing this link to participate. The agenda can be found here. Addition information is available by email at info@vbg.org or phone 847-459-2500.

Counties list COVID-19 vaccine information

The Cook County Department of Public Health has new website link where suburban Cook County residents can sign up for COVID-19 vaccine notifications, as well as view FAQs about the vaccine. It can be found here.

Lake County residents can get information from the Lake County Health Department’s  Allvax website.  Lake County residents can register to receive notifications regarding when the COVID-19 vaccine is available to them.

Dig out the hydrants

With another significant snowfall predicted for this weekend, the Buffalo Grove Fire Department is asking residents that if they see a fire hydrant covered with snow, to consider clearing three feet around it. Residents are also asked to clear a path to the street.

Village renews electric aggregation program

The village has renewed the Green Electric Aggregation Program. As part of this program, residents will not pay more than the ComEd rate, and 50-percent of power consumption is offset by renewable green energy. For more information, visit the Village's web page here. For specific questions about your account, contact Sharon Durling at (312) 751-2202 or sdurling@nimec.net.

Plow got your post?

Residents whose mailboxes are damaged after being hit directly by a snow plow can have them repaired or replaced in the spring. Please report any incidences to the Public Works Department as soon as possible during normal business hours, Monday – Friday from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at (847) 459-2545.

To make a report after hours, call the non-emergency Police Department at (847) 459-2560. After a report is made, a member of the Public Works will come to the home to review the damages. Improperly installed mailboxes/support posts will not be replaced. Mailboxes damaged by snow that is thrown off the plow are not part of this program.

Lake County seeks input on road project

The Lake County Department of Transportation is seeking resident input for its planned reconstruction of Arlington Heights Road north from Lake-Cook Road to McHenry Road (Ill. Rt. 83). Information is available at this link. Lake County DOT also has a video about the project. It can be found this link.

Cops and valentines for vets

Buffalo Grove Police are partnering with the Vernon Area Public Library and the Village of Lincolnshire through Feb. 6 as a collection site for the ‘Valentines for Vets’ program.

Residents are encouraged to get creative and make their own valentines or use the template at this link.

Valentines dropped off at the Police Department, 46 Raupp Boulevard, will be delivered to veterans at Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago and other local senior living facilities.

Candidate cleared to remain on ballot

The Buffalo Grove Electoral Board last week voted to leave Gowri Magati on the April 6 ballot, even though it acknowledged problems with her nomination opinion. Objections were filed by former Village Trustee Jeff Berman who contended that there were signatures on Magati’s petition that were not valid and that she did not follow required procedures for witnessing signatures.

The Electoral Board, made up of Village Board President Beverly Sussman, Village Clerk Jan Sirabian and court-appointed member, attorney Laura Jacksack. She was appointed because the third member of the Electoral Board is the most senior serving trustees. This was not possible as Trustees Lester Ottenheimer, Joanne Johnson and Andrew Stein are all candidates in the April election.

The Board contended that while Berman presented evidence of irregularities, more examples should have been cited in his objection filing.

While the vote was 3-0, Sirabian made it clear she was not happy about Magati’s petition. “I believe the testimony was not credible and there was a proven pattern of falsities in petition and in hearing,” she said prior to the vote.

Library set to reopen

The Indian Trails Public Library, 335 Schoenbeck Road in Wheeling and its Branch at 99 E. Palatine Road in Prospect Heights, are set re-open Monday, Feb. 1. Full details are available here.

Indian Trails Public Library offers programs

** Donate your gently used clothing – Jan. 25-Feb. 30 Helping Hands and ITPLD are joining together to collect used clothing that can be recycled or donated to those in need. Donations can be dropped off in the blue bin, located in the northeast corner of the library’s parking lot.

** Poetry jam: explore different types -- Tuesday, Feb. 2, 7 to 8 p.m. Live Zoom Program. Grades 6-12. Learn about different types of poetry, and try to create some of your own. This program is part of One Book, One Community.

** Family night: dinner and a movie -- Friday, Feb. 5, 6-7 p.m. Live Zoom program. All ages. Gather your family in the kitchen and get cooking for a fun family date night. This interactive class with Chef Kristyn, shows participants how to make shareable finger foods for an at-home movie experience. The program will include tips on making sweet snacks and more substantial bites—with lots of kitchen tips and tricks too.  Register at this link.

Student Voices

Here are links to the student newspapers at Stevenson and Buffalo Grove high schools.

Buffalo Grove High School Charger

Stevenson High School Statesman

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