Urgent Community Safety Alert

Dear Fellow Villagers,

We want to make certain you are aware of a number of alarming incidents that took place in and around the Village on Monday, December 11th. Fortunately, no one was injured in any of the incidents.

Here are the details available at this time:

At 8:05 p.m., a masked man approached a woman on the 3200 block of North Hoyne and displayed a handgun. He then drove off in her 2011 Porsche Cayenne, heading south in the alley located immediately east of Hoyne. Police report the owner’s cell phone was discarded near Hamlin Park, most likely to prevent GPS tracking of the vehicle. The offender was a young black male.

At approximately 8:10 p.m., the owner of a red 2014 Dodge Dart entered Lush Wine & Spirits on Roscoe Street to report that his vehicle had just been carjacked by two armed men on the 3300 block of North Bell.

Those offenders were described as black males in their early 20’s. The first is approximately 5’10” and has twists in his hair. He was wearing a red and white letterman-style jacket and a scarf over his face; he carried a blue steel handgun. The second is approximately 5’9” and wore a dark gray or black hoodie with writing on the front, and a ski mask with detailing around the eyes and mouth.

Police believe both incidents involve the same crew of thieves and that a fourth suspect likely dropped off the others near the two locations.

Anyone who might have seen these offenders either during the commission of these crimes or while they were casing the area immediately beforehand is asked to contact Area North Violent Crime detectives at (312) 744-8261.

In addition to the two carjackings, there was a robbery and attempted carjacking later Monday evening. A 37-year-old man was walking in the 2000 block of West Grace at 9:55 p.m. Monday when a man and a woman approached him, pulled out a handgun and announced a robbery. The male offender held the man at gunpoint while the woman took the victim’s car keys, wallet, and phone. After demanding to know where the victim’s car was parked, the pair fled on foot.

Responding officers quickly learned that the suspects had been directed to the victim’s car, which had been parked near Roscoe and Claremont. Cops swarmed that area and spotted the robbery suspects as they neared the victim’s car. The duo fled on foot, but both were quickly taken into custody. A gun was recovered along with the victim’s property in the 3400 block of North Claremont. Charges are pending, and investigators are working to learn if the detained suspects have connections to the other carjackings that took place earlier in the evening.

Villagers Helping Each Other

Roscoe Village is a special place because of its residents and because neighbors look out for one another. It is part of the spirit that defines our “Village Within the City.”

Toward that end, we want to let you know what you can do to help Roscoe Village address the increasing amount of crime occurring in and around the Village.

  1. Contact our elected officials. In the last six years, staffing at the 19th Police District has been cut from 468 officers to just 363 officers, a decrease of 22%, which has left the Village and surrounding neighborhoods severely understaffed. Response times for 911 emergency calls have increased and there are fewer officers out patrolling our streets. While Commander Buslik and others at District 19 are doing their best with the resources they have, our district’s staffing numbers are set by City Hall. Therefore, we ask you to phone and email Mayor Rahm Emanuel and our Aldermen to ask for more police officers to be staffed in District 19. Their contact information follows:
  1. Trust your good judgment and call 911. If you see anything that looks out of place or witness suspicious behavior, call 911 immediately. Don’t wait for the situation to become critical or unavoidable.
  2. Turn on your lights. Darkness is a criminal’s friend. Please keep your front and rear porch lights turned on.
  3. Minimize the time packages sit on your porch. If you’re having a package delivered to your home and won’t be there to receive it, re-route the delivery to a neighbor who is home during the day, or to an Amazon/FedEx/UPS pick-up location. Similarly, if you see a package on your neighbor’s porch, contact them to bring the package inside or bring it inside for them.
  4. Maintain situational awareness. If you’re in public, you are, by definition, subject to public threats. Limit your use of headphones, phones and other small devices, and remain alert to who and what is around you.
  5. Report graffiti by calling 311 or using the app, See-Click-Fix. Graffiti attracts more graffiti from rival gangs and signals to outsiders that a community may be complacent and vulnerable.
  6. Attend our monthly CAPS beat meeting. The 19th Police District CAPS (Community Alternative Policing Strategy) sponsors meetings every month at the Belmont station. Check the Aldermans’ websites for meeting details or call/email the 19th District CAPS office at 312-744-8320 or caps019district@chicagopolice.org.
  7. Become a member of Roscoe Village Neighbors and make sure your friends and neighbors join, too. Membership in RVN strengthens our community by broadening our network for keeping Village residents and business owners informed and mobilized for action. It also strengthens our political influence and provides invaluable resources for new safety initiatives. To join, visit www.RoscoeVillage.org, scroll down the right side and click on JOIN RVN.

It is only by all of us working together that we will keep Roscoe Village a great place to live, work, and play. In the meantime, if you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact us at roscoevillageneighbors@gmail.com.

Roscoe Village Neighbors

Neighborhood Watch Committee