Wilmette and Kenilworth police blotter for Jan. 17 through Jan. 23, 2012

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Updated: February 27, 2012 8:32AM

The following incidents were listed among the official reports of the Wilmette and Kenilworth Police Departments. Readers are reminded that an arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt. Only a court of law can make that determination. Court appearances take place in Cook County 2nd District Circuit Court, Skokie, unless indicated otherwise.

Wilmette

BATTERY

Two automobile repossessors told police Jan. 17 that one of them had been kicked several times by a woman who didn’t want them to repossess her car. The incident took place at an apartment complex on the 800 block of Skokie Boulevard. The woman, who told police that the two had no right to take her vehicle, claimed she had been pushed and that her clothes had been torn when she tried to get into the car to prevent them from towing it. Although she couldn’t produce documents to support her claim to the car, the repossession crew provided police with a valid court order allowing them to take it. The woman was advised to contact an attorney to continue her efforts as a civil matter.

Two residents of an apartment complex on the 300 block of Ridge Road told police Jan. 17 that one of them had been accosted, while the two were returning home with groceries, by his mother’s former boyfriend. The suspect, who blamed the son for the breakup, allegedly smacked groceries out of the son’s hand; then, when the son’s friend tried to intervene, the former boyfriend allegedly punched him before being wrestled to the ground briefly. The suspect fled, but the man whom he allegedly punched said he wants to pursue charges. Police tried unsuccessfully to find the suspect at another apartment in the complex.

BURGLARY

A resident on the 900 block of Chestnut Avenue told police Jan. 17 that someone got into her two unlocked vehicles, ransacked them and took a bag of tools from one of them, only to abandon the bag near her home. She didn’t know whether anything else was taken, police said.

The owner of a house on the 200 block of Linden Avenue told police Jan. 18 that someone entered her house through a previously boarded-up basement window and burglarized her home, sometime between Jan. 14 and 18. Inside the house, which was vacant at the time of the break-in, police found that someone took an office door off its hinges and forced entry to other rooms. Stolen were two flat-screen televisions, other electronic items and silver service and flatware, estimated to have a combined value of more than $1,300.

Residents on the 900 block of Central Avenue told police Jan. 17 that their two cars appeared to have been broken into overnight, although they believed they had locked both vehicles. Nothing was taken from one car, but a phone charger, a bag of clothing and a purse were taken from the other. The items were valued at roughly $200.

A resident on the 1400 block of Ashland Avenue told police Jan. 18 that someone got into her car, took items that had belonged to a friend, as well as a bag of M&M candies stored on the console, then scattered the contents of her friend’s box in a neighbor’s yard. The candies weren’t recovered.

THEFT

A Winnetka woman told police Jan. 17 that her wallet was stolen from her purse while she ate at Panera Bread, 1199 Wilmette Ave. She thought her purse, which she hung on the back of her chair, had been zipped closed, but discovered the wallet missing while still at the restaurant. She learned later that someone had used her credit cards to make more than $8,000 in purchases at Skokie and Northbrook computer stores and at one store in Highland Park.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

Officials at the Baha’i House of Worship, 100 Linden Ave., told police Jan. 18 that someone damaged about 20 of their in-ground landscaping lights sometime Jan. 17 or 18. Police said the lights appeared to have been struck with an unknown object. Damage was estimated at $500. The case is still under investigation.

Chicago Transit Authority officials told police Jan. 20 that someone used spray paint to damage several train cars in the rail yard at 339 Linden Ave. by writing words, including “VESPA” and “TATER.” Police found footprints in the snow that suggested two people got into the yard, then left via Maple Park. The damage was estimated at $1,000.

Kenilworth

BURGLARY

A resident on the 100 block of Robsart Road told police Jan. 17 that someone entered his unlocked vehicle overnight and took electronic game-playing equipment and games valued at about $450.

A resident on the 200 block of Oxford Road told police Jan. 17 that someone got into his garage and took a bicycle valued at $2,500.