Nine Central Street businesses reported smashed glass following a series of burglaries and property damage early Thursday, Nov. 12, according to Evanston police. Officers responded around 4 a.m.; several businesses reported stolen property.
The break-ins stretched across three blocks. Affected businesses in the 1600 block of Central Street included Mustard's Last Stand. In the 1700 block: The Spot, Preston's Flowers and Hewn Bakery. In the 1900 block: Pinto Thai, Bluestone, Christian Science Reading Room, Custom Eyes and Spice House.
The Spot owner Otto Ade thanked neighbors for their support in a Nov. 12 Instagram post, saying the restaurant escaped significant losses. “You can break a window, but you can’t break the spirit of this community,” he wrote.
Sixteen more businesses in Wilmette were burglarized or targeted in attempted burglaries between 3:45 and 4:09 a.m. the same morning, according to a Wilmette Police Department statement. Nine were in the 100 block of Skokie Boulevard and seven were in Wilmette's Village Center in the 1100 blocks of Wilmette and Central avenues.
Evanston detectives are reviewing surveillance footage and investigating a possible connection to the Wilmette incidents. Neither department reported an arrest in its Nov. 12 statement.
Stolen vehicle, failed traffic stop
Wilmette police said a preliminary investigation indicates a group of people in a single vehicle carried out the Wilmette burglaries. The vehicle had been reported stolen earlier that morning from Oak Forest, a southwest suburb, according to the Wilmette statement.
Officers responded to the Skokie Boulevard location at 3:47 a.m. Surveillance footage showed the suspects were there less than five minutes before fleeing, Wilmette police said. A witness then reported the sound of breaking glass in the Village Center at 4:09 a.m.
Two officers located a suspicious vehicle near the Village Center and attempted a traffic stop. The driver fled onto Interstate 94 from Lake Avenue. A Chicago Police Department helicopter later located the vehicle and observed several people fleeing on foot, according to Wilmette police. Officers recovered the stolen vehicle, and evidence technicians are processing it.
Police seek tips
Wilmette police said the burglaries follow a regional pattern in which groups carry out a high volume of break-ins in a short period, targeting cash. Similar smash-and-grab tactics were used in burglaries of three downtown Evanston businesses in September, the RoundTable reported.
Anyone with information can contact the Evanston Police Department at 847-866-5000. Tips can also be submitted by texting CRIMES to 275637, beginning the message with EPDTIP.
