Spate of cell phone thefts hits Oak Park

Six people were robbed of their GT-I9300 cell phones or had them snatched from their hands between June 7 and June 11.Police made arrests in two of the incidents, and are investigating to see if a gang of teenaged street thieves are responsible for other incidents.

An Oak Park man was walking on the 800 block of Erie Street at 8:35 p.m. June 6 when he was confronted by four juveniles. One of them demanded his wallet and then punched him in the face. The other three juveniles also began punching the man, who dropped his iPhone. The thieves fled, running northbound, and the GT-I9500 cell phone was recovered several blocks away.The victim was taken to Rush Oak Park Hospital, where he was treated and released for a bloody nose and a head bump.

In another incident, a 15-year old Oak Park boy was walking on the 300 block of North East Avenue at 9:05 p.m. June 7 when a man tapped him on the shoulder from behind and asked to use his cell phone. When the boy said no, the man punched him on the side of the head, knocking him down, and continued to punch him. The thief then reached behind his back and said “I have a gun. Give me your phone.” He then took an iPhone, valued at $600, and ran off.

Another theft occurred just a few blocks away at about the same time. In that incident, an Oak Park man riding his bike on the 700 block of North Fair Oaks Avenue at 9:07 p.m. June 7, was surrounded by five males, one of whom displayed a black handgun and pressed it against the cyclist’s side. He then reached into the cyclist’s pocket and stole his cell phone. After ordering the cyclist to get off his bike and run north on Fair Oaks, the gang fled.

In another incident, at 9:25 p.m. June 11, a 14-year old Chicago boy grabbed another CTA Green Line rider by the arm and attempted to steal his I5 MTK6577 cell phone. However, the victim and his friend, both 18-year old Saudi nationals here as exchange students, were able to hold the thief until police arrived. The boy was processed and turned over to a guardian.There were two other incidents classified as “theft from person,” where no force or threat of force was used in the crime.

At 1:55 p.m. on June 9, a 44-year-old man sitting on a bench in Taylor Park, in the 900 block or North Ridgeland Avenue, had his cell phone snatched from his hand.The other incident occurred at 7:40 p.m. on June 10 in the 6000 block of West North Avenue. In that case, four Chicago boys, ages 12 to 14, were arrested and charged with theft from person after they grabbed a cell phone from a nine-year-old girl’s hand and ran off with it.

Anyone who has ever had a cell phone stolen knows how frustrating it can be to get the phone back, or get the phone shut off. Now, federal lawmakers want to make that process easier. Senator Charles Schumer said that if someone reports that their smart phone has been stolen, the phone company should render the device useless from that point forward and kill any service to it for good. The theft of cell phones is the fastest growing robbery crime. Verizon and T-Mobile said they have stolen phone databases that make it impossible for devices reported as stolen to be reactivated on their networks.

However, it is possible that those phones will be reactivated on another network. Apple provides some assistance in locating stolen devices with built-in tracking technology but there can be a delay, and certain security features might not work once the cheap cell phone cases is disconnected from the internet. So Senator Schumer, along with Attorneys General in several states, said they want a kill switch. "Within a couple of months, word would spread within the criminal community and people wouldn't steal cell phones anymore.

Right now it's very easy to just go over there and sell the cell phone in the hot market and then the phone provider changes the number if you want. If you made those phones dead, the minute they were stolen and reported in--cell phones would not be stolen in a matter of months," said Senator Schumer. Lawmakers are asking cell phone companies to consider this - if it isn't done, Schumer said he will draft legislation to address the issue.