16th (Jefferson Park) District officers honored for arrest of suspect who shot at police car

by BRIAN NADIG

The 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District Advisory Committee at its Nov. 20 meeting heard updates on a recent series of commercial burglaries and honored officers who helped arrest a suspect accused of shooting at a police car during a chase.

“We believe it’s a crew hitting citywide,” district commander Thomas Hanrahan said of the Nov. 15 break-ins to Tony’s Italian Deli, 6708 N. Northwest Hwy., and Bob-O’s Italian Beef, 6161 N. Milwaukee Ave. At Tony’s, the owner walked into his business while the assailants were inside, and one of them pointed a gun at the owner before they fled with cash registers.

The getaway car, an Infiniti, was reported stolen and was later recovered on the South Side.

The crew is expected to have hit at least 10 businesses throughout the city by Nov. 15, and the group is believed to be responsible for more burglaries since then, although none of those have been reported in the 16th District through at least early December, according to police.

“We have a good idea who it was,” Hanrahan said. “We are trying to get ahead of this, trying to be proactive, not reactive,” Hanrahan said.

District officers have been going into businesses, meeting with owners and workers and answering questions.

Based on a review of surveillance footage, it appears that the burglars had been casing businesses along Milwaukee Avenue and Northwest Highway, looking for potential targets, Hanrahan said.

The district recommends that stores and restaurants leave their registers open with no cash in them during the overnight hours and report suspicious individuals who appear to be profiling a business for a future burglary.

District officers reportedly have stopped some suspicious cars due to indications they might be burglars, but the vehicles speed off, and police are not allowed to chase in those circumstances.

Overall the number of reported burglaries in the district this year is 171, down 40 percent from last year’s 284 total during the same period, according to police. The number of reported robberies is 71 this year, down 47 percent from 134 during the same period in 2024.

Also at the meeting, the committee honored sergeant Cameron Mays and officer Fazan Khan as “Officer of the month” for their Oct. 27 arrest of a suspected gang member who fired multiple shots toward a police car during a chase in the 5700 block of West Montrose Avenue.

One of the shots hit the front left bumper of the police car, while another reportedly entered a nearby apartment, police said. Officers did not return fire, and no one was reported injured as a result of the gunfire, police said.

The suspect reportedly was driving a stolen red jeep, and officers noticed the vehicle in the drive-through lane of the McDonald’s at 4946 N. Milwaukee Ave. but were unsuccessful in blocking the jeep’s exit from the parking lot.

After the gunshots on Montrose, the jeep then entered an alley in the 4500 block of North Meade Avenue, and after a police car struck the jeep, the suspect exited the vehicle and was taken into custody, police said. A .45 caliber Glock was found inside the jeep, police said.

The suspect, who had been charged in June in connection with another car chase in the district, faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, for the Oct. 27 incident, police said.

Also honored were officers Daisy Velasquez and Thalia Bandera for their Sept. 16 arrest of a man who reportedly was brandishing a knife and had been seen burglarizing a car. The arrest occurred in the 4100 block of North Central Avenue, police said.

(photo by Ed Quartullo)

This is just part of today’s coverage. Get the full story - every article, every ad, every page. Subscribe now.

The Latest From Our Community