Chicago crime: Surveillance camera video captures series of car break-ins on West Side; property owner offers $2K reward

A Chicago property owner on the West Side has put up a $2,000 reward for any information that could lead to an arrest following a string of car break-ins.

Alex Roman expressed his desire for justice for the residents in his community while speaking to ABC7.

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“The perpetrators were well-concealed and very methodical,” Roman noted.

Roman recounted receiving a text from one of his tenants early Saturday morning at 1 a.m., alerting him that her car alarm had been triggered.

“When I arrived, I saw her vehicle had been broken into, as well as my neighbor’s,” he shared.

The incidents occurred on West Polk Street near South California Avenue. Roman later discovered from other neighbors that several more cars had been targeted between midnight and 3 a.m. that night.

“We had two break-ins on Polk, three break-ins on Arthington, and five break-ins between Wilcox and off Wilcox on Sacramento,” Roman said.

Roman’s surveillance cameras captured an individual going car-to-car on Arthington and breaking into his tenant’s vehicle behind his property on Polk Street.

“I noticed the cars that they did break into, they didn’t leave any materials inside, like, whatever they used to break it. They took it back out with them, and they were wearing gloves, a mask, a hood,” Roman said.

Roman hopes his reward will encourage someone who knows something to step forward, and he also hopes to bring safety to his neighborhood.

“It’s to bring peace of mind to the people around here. I know when stuff like that happens, they can kind of shake their sense of safety, and it’s kind of invasive to have someone go through your car and wonder if they’re going to come back,” Roman said.

Roman is encouraging anyone who is a victim to file a police report so that these crimes can be put on record. ABC7 reached out to Chicago police but did not immediately hear back.

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