Jewelry Targeted in Wilmette Weekend Home Burglaries

Wilmette police were called to three local homes Saturday evening after someone attempted to force entry to one residence and two more were burglarized, all within a three-hour span, police reported.

Offenders made off with approximately $5,000 worth of jewelry in one burglary, stole an undisclosed amount of jewelry in another and were denied entry in a third incident, according to police reports.

Police were alerted to the first burglary when they responded to an alarm call coming from a two story building located in the 1600 block of Elmwood Avenue at 6:21 p.m. Responding officers reported that the building's back door had been forced open with a pry tool and the alarm panel had been ripped off the wall. Empty jewelry boxes were found on the floor of an upstairs bedroom and a key chain camera was missing from a UPS package.

A second call came in at 6:44 p.m., when someone activated the alarm system of a home located in the 2500 block of Kenilworth Avenue. Police again reported that someone had attempted to break in through the back door using a pry tool, but the offender had failed to gain entry. One neighbor told police that his dog had barked at a small, dark-colored SUV, parked near his home in the 1200 block of Princeton Place, and that the vehicle had pulled away a few minutes after 6:45 p.m.

In a third incident, police say offenders entered a home in the 700 block of Washington Avenue sometime between 5 p.m. and 7:53 p.m., and stole nearly $5,000 worth of jewelry. A victim told police she had left her home at 5 p.m. to walk to dinner at a nearby eatery, and upon returning 75 minutes later, she noticed that the backdoor was unlocked. The woman returned to the restaurant, but later told police she believed the offender had been inside her home during her brief return.

Police spokesperson Cmdr. Patrick Collins said it is unclear whether the three incidents were related.

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