Shameless Crimes: Slicksters Hit Beloved Irish Store, Wheelchair Stolen

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 13

Wheelchair Stolen from Driveway

Thieves swiped a wheelchair left on the driveway of a home on the 4500 block of West 105th St. around 11:12 a.m. Police said the mother had taken her daughter’s wheelchair out of the garage and left it outside while she went into the house to get her daughter ready to go out. When she went back outside the get the wheelchair, she noticed it was gone. The mother was told to file a police report by her daughter’s medical facility so she could purchase another one.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 12

Smooth-Talking Slicksters Steal Gems

Two men are believed to have stolen $10,000 worth of jewelry when they fast-talked and distracted employees of a local specialty store, police said.

Employees of A Touch of Ireland at 6761 W. 95th Street told police that a well-dressed man came into the store on Feb. 11.

After he walked around the store a bit, and employee eventually helped the man described as white, thin, around six feet tall, and well dressed. An employee assisted him in selecting some pieces at the jewelry counter.

Police said the man made his selections, then asked the employee to put a hold on the pieces and that his wife would be in later to pay for them.

The man then asked for permission to peruse the shoe section. While the first man was looking at shoes, a second, older man came into the store.

The second man asked to look at a few items in a display case, but left without buying anything, reports said.

The next morning when employees arrived to open the store around 11:07 a.m., they discovered that the computer monitor to the store’s video surveillance system had been disconnected.

Police said employees reported several empty jewelry boxes in two display cases. Employees said they did not take the pieces and think the two men who came into the store the day before are responsible.

The second man was described in his early fifties and wearing a gray sweatshirt that said “Laborers’ Union” across the front of it.

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