Woman Waits Five Days To Tell Police Her Home Was Burglarized

This information came from reports provided by the Decatur Police Department.

It took a five days, but a woman told police her Kathryn Avenue house was burglarized and about $2,250 in jewelry stolen while she was out running errands on Jan. 6.

The woman said she secured her house about 1 p.m. and returned about 4:30 p.m. to find the rear door ajar. At first she thought she'd left the door open, but later noticed several small wooden jewelry boxes had been left open.

Nothing seemed to be missing so she thought her spouse had opened the boxes.

She examined the house further and noticed the window near the back door had been disturbed. Nothing was missing so she didn't call police. She called a handyman to repair the window lock.

On Jan. 11 she realized jewelry was missing from a jewelry box in the bedroom. That's when she called police.

Listed as missing were four rings and two bracelets, worth a total of $2,250. One of the rings was worth $1,000.

Because the crime scene had been contaminated, no latent prints could be processed.

A Hillcrest Avenue resident said jewelry and a laptop were taken from her residence Jan. 4.

The resident said she left about 11 a.m. and returned about 6 p.m. to discover a necklace and earrings worth $150 and a blue Toshiba laptop worth $500 had been taken. Police found no signs of forcible entry.

The woman said another laptop was taken from her residence Dec. 15 but she didn't report it to police.

A woman said her purse was stolen Jan. 4 while she was at the DFCS office on Sams Street. The purse contained about $260 in cash, a debit card, her Social Security card and an Illinois driver's license.

A saxophone and a box of CDs were reported stolen Jan. 4 from a Chewning Way residents. A man said the items had been left outside the residence and that he thought they were taken Jan. 2. The saxophone was valued at $500, the CDs at $20.

A home in the 100 block of Parkside Circle was broken into Jan. 5 and $100 in jewelry stolen.

The homeowner left about 7:30 a.m. and returned about 7 p.m. to discover debris on the toilet seat in the bathroom. The lock on the window was broken but the window was shut.

Some drawers in the bedroom were opened but only one necklace appeared to be missing. She called police who found a shovel propped against the side of the house.

The woman said the shovel belonged to her but that she didn't leave it at that spot.

A resident of the 400 block of Sycamore Drive told police a bicycle worth $400 was taken from his residence Jan. 8.

The man said he last saw the bike, described as a black framed Power Lite with red handlebars and chrome front fork and crank, leaning against the front porch about 2:30 p.m. At 3:20 p.m., he noticed it was missing.

The man also said he found a bike in the street near his house and thinks the thief discarded it. That bike was described as a red Magna Glacier Point Bicycle with an estimated value of $50. Police took it as evidence.

This information comes from Avondale Estates police reports.

The International Community School reported Jan. 9 that a laptop had been stolen from a classroom.

Police said they found a broken window on a mobile classroom at the school at 3260 Covington Highway. Only the computer, worth about $300, was taken. The theft occurred between Jan. 6 and Jan. 9.

A leaf blower was reported stolen from the back of a 1977 Chevy pickup truck on South Avondale Road. The leaf blower was valued at $575.