Police: 18 Wilmette Auto Burglaries in One Week

Cars containing small electronic items have been targeted.

Wilmette has experience a high number of auto burglaries during the past week. In total, 18 cars were burglarized in the village from Nov. 8 through Nov. 15, with the majority of incidents taking place in two clusters last weekend. Between the night of Friday, Nov. 9 and the following morning, several vehicles were broken into on Wilmette’s east side. On Saturday night and Sunday morning, cars on the village’s west side were hit. Stay up to date on the latest crime news in Wilmette and Kenilworth! Sign up for our newsletter and "like" us on Facebook! Wilmette Police Chief Brian King said cars with unlocked doors and those containing small, visible electronic items inside were targeted. “The common link here is unlocked vehicles” King said…

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Martial Arts Instructor Stole, Pawned Customer’s iPad, Police Say

The man was previously charged with stealing $42,000 from the Wilmette martial arts studio.

Wilmette police say that the manager of a Wilmette martial arts academy who was recently charged with stealing over $42,000 from the business also stole a customer’s iPad and sold it at a pawn shop the following day, according to a report. According to the police report, a Wilmette woman told police on Nov. 7 that someone had stolen her $600 iPad2 while she was watching her daughter’s class at Baek’s Tiger Martial Arts studio in Wilmette, 1417 Lake Ave, between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 29. The woman told police that she had called the studio once on Oct. 29 and again on Oct. 30, and said that on both occasions she had spoken to Ethan Hong, the then manager, and asked him if he had found her missing iPad. “Mr. Hong told her he did not …

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Editor's Pick: Police Say Wilmette Store Manger Admitted Stealing $42k from Business

The man allegedly used a personal credit card reader to route the money into his bank account.

Police: Wilmette Store Manger Admits Stealing $42K from Business

The man allegedly used a personal credit card reader to route the money into his bank account.

A Waukegan man admitted to stealing over $42,000 during his time as a manger of a Wilmette business by diverting customer credit card payments into a personal bank account, police reported. Ethan J. Hong, 24, of the 500 block of Washington Street, was charged with felony theft after Wilmette police arrested him Wednesday. The owner or a Wilmette business located in the 1400 block of Lake Avenue called police Wednesday to report a possible employee theft. The owner told police he had discovered that Hong had been diverting money from business sales into a personal account since January. Police said Hong later admitted to making over 30 separate thefts from the business. Hong reportedly said he would swipe customers’ credit cards through his…

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Police: Recently Paroled Chicago Man Stole Laptops, Jewelry from Wilmette Homes

The man allegedly smashed open rear-door window to gain entry.

A Chicago man has been charged with two counts of residential burglary after he allegedly broke into two Wilmette townhomes Wednesday and stole laptops, camera equipment and jewelry, police reported. Arnold Rogers, 41, of the 1400 block of South Canal Street, Chicago, was released on parole less than a week earlier after serving five years of an 11-year sentence for burglary, police reported. Wilmette police officers responded to a burglary call in the 500 block of Ridge Road at 3:37 p.m. Wednesday. Upon arrival, officers found that the rear-door window panes of two townhomes had been smashed open. A resident of one of the burglarized townhomes told police that someone had stolen five laptop computers, a camera, electronic equipment, …

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