CHICAGO (WLS) — Thieves have been busy this week, knocking off businesses. Early Thursday morning, a group smashed into a GameStop on Cermak Road, and hit El Taconazo Restaurant that’s just steps away in the city’s Heart of Chicago neighborhood. ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch And at Shawn Michelle’s Homemade Ice Cream on 47th Street in Bronzeville, there was a similar scene Thursday morning. The owner said the alarm company called him in the middle of the night. When he arrived, the register was gone and even the safes had been taken. The Cermak burglaries were part of a string of crimes, Chicago police said. SEE ALSO: CPD issues alert for dozens of armed robberies over last month across Chicago In each incident, two to four men between 20 and 30 year old, wearing dark-colored hooded sweatshirts, sweatpants and ski masks, forcibly entered businesses after breaking the front glass door, Chicago police said. Once inside, suspects stole money in safes and cash registers, CPD said. In one incident, one of the suspects pointed a gun and threatened to shoot the unsuspecting victim as he arrived to work and entered into the business, according to police. A stolen gray 2011 Infiniti four-door sedan and a black 2017 Infiniti four-door sedan were identified as being used by the suspects in a majority of incidents. The crimes took place at the following times and locations: 3300-block of North Broadway at 3: 20 a. m. on Nov. 5 (Lake View East) 7100-block of North Ridge Boulevard at 3: 32 a. m. on Nov. 5 (West Ridge) 600-block of West Washington Boulevard at 4: 30 a. m. on Nov. 5 (West Loop) 400-block of South Wells Street at 5 a. m. on Nov. 5 (Chicago Loop) 1900-block of South State Street at 4: 58 a. m. on Nov. 7 (Near South Side) 2000-block of South Clark Street at 5: 04 a. m. on Nov. 7 (South Loop) 500-block West Harrison Street at 5: 40 a. m. on Nov. 7 (Near West Side) 6100-block of North Milwaukee Avenue at 5: 04 a. m. on Nov. 15 (Norwood Park) 6700-block of North Northwest Highway at 5: 21 a. m. on Nov. 15 (Edison Park) 3400-block of North Elston Avenue at 6: 30 a. m. on Nov. 15 (Avondale) 4300-block of West Irving Park Road at 3: 11 a. m. on Nov. 20 (Old Irving) 4300-block of West Irving Park Road at 3: 11 a. m. on Nov. 20 (Old Irving) 4300-block of West Irving Park Road at 3: 54 a. m. on Nov. 20 (Old Irving) 2300-block of West Cermak Road at 4: 25 a. m. on Nov. 20 (Lower West Side) 2300-block of West Cermak Road at 4: 27 a. m. on Nov. 20 (Lower West Side) 800-block of West Jackson Boulevard at 4: 41 a. m. on Nov. 20 (West Loop) Anyone with information should call Area Three Detectives at (312) 744-8263.
https://abc7chicago.com/post/chicago-burglaries-least-6-businesses-burglarized-90-minutes-old-irving-park-west-loop-lower-side-cpd-says/18181639/
Tag: unsuspecting
Parole denied for sexual predator
Charles M. Bland, 72, who claimed to children he was a professor, doctor and scientist, among other things, before molesting them, has been denied parole. Jenna Wade, coordinator of the Victim / Witness Division of the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office, said that Bland will not be eligible for parole again until October 2035. On May 8, 2013, Bland was given a 10-year-to-life prison sentence by former Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge W. Wyatt McKay after Bland pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, two counts of gross sexual imposition, 25 counts of pandering obscenity involving minors and one count of illegal use of minor in nudity-oriented material or performance. Bland’s victims were as young as 6, according to the prosecutor’s office. While living at Suburban Trailer Park in Trumbull County, Bland claimed to be a professor, a philosopher, a doctor, scientist and astronomer. He went so far as to print counterfeit degrees and diplomas, which he hung in his run-down trailer. He concocted these lies to gain the trust of his neighbors and gain access to their children. Under these fake credentials, Bland lured unsuspecting neighborhood children into his trailer under the guise of “tutoring” them. Once inside, Bland would use his age and size to violate these youngsters, forcing them to engage in various sex acts, including forced touching, forced oral sex, and digital and vaginal penetration. A search of Bland’s trailer found a nude image Bland personally took of a 6-year-old girl. Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman, who wrote the parole board in opposition to Bland’s release, said he was pleased with the decision to keep him in prison. Bland will remain in Belmont Correction Institution, with his next parole hearing scheduled for August 2035, according to the prison’s website.
https://www.tribtoday.com/news/local-news/2025/11/parole-denied-for-sexual-predator/