Overnight Break-In Spree Hits Wilmette and Evanston Shops

Police in two north suburban towns are looking at a fast-moving burst of shop break-ins. The targets were small stores and restaurants in Wilmette and Evanston. The spree happened overnight from Wednesday, Nov. 11, into Thursday, Nov. 12. In Wilmette, 16 businesses were hit or faced attempted break-ins. The window was tight: 3:45 a.m. to 4:09 a.m. Thursday. Cash seemed to be the goal at each spot. Nine of those Wilmette cases were on the west side, in the 100 block of Skokie Boulevard. Seven were in the Village Center, in the 1100 blocks of Wilmette and Central Avenues. Those two areas sit about two and a half miles apart.

Evanston saw nine more burglaries on Central Street in the same period. Police there got calls about alarms and broken storefront windows around 4 a.m. The reports came from the 1600 through 1900 blocks of Central Street. Windows were damaged, and items were taken from inside. Evanston police Commander Chelsea Brown said investigators are checking whether the two sets of crimes are connected. That question matters. A link would point to one crew moving across town lines, not separate local incidents.

The list of affected places includes Pit & Tap, Central Station Coffee & Tea, Panera Bread and Cocomero Frozen Yogurt in Wilmette. In Evanston, it includes Mustard’s Last Stand, The Spot, Preston’s Flowers, Hewn Bakery, Pinto Thai, Christian Science Reading Room, Custom Eyes, Bluestone and The Spice House. Pit & Tap owner Michael Clarke said his cameras showed several people breaking a front window around 4 a.m. He said police called him at 7:30 a.m. His account describes six people getting out of a car at Wilmette and Central Avenues. Two seemed to break into Cocomero across the street. Three smashed his front window and climbed in. The group was inside for just over 90 seconds, he said. It pulled out two cash registers from behind the bar and two tablets from the front. Damage could reach thousands of dollars. The restaurant closed for most of Thursday to board up windows and restore payment systems. It still hopes to open its Deck the Halls Christmas pop-up next week.

Wilmette police said early findings point to one vehicle used in the break-ins. That vehicle was reportedly stolen early Thursday from the City of Oak Forest. The department said the crimes fit a pattern seen in other regional communities. In that pattern, a group hits many businesses in a short time. They break windows or glass doors. They spend little time inside and look for cash or valuables. Officers responded to reports at 3:47 a.m. and 4:09 a.m. Two officers from the Skokie Boulevard scene found a suspicious vehicle within blocks of Village Center. They tried a traffic stop. The driver kept going and got onto I-94 from Lake Avenue, police said. A Chicago police helicopter later found the vehicle. Officers saw several offenders run away on foot. Wilmette police recovered the stolen vehicle. Technicians are processing it for evidence. No arrests have been made. Central Station Coffee & Tea posted that its front windows were shattered and a cash register was stolen. The big question is simple: how can so many shops be hit so quickly, and what does that say about how these crews pick targets?