Following a suspicious vehicle report, Oak Lawn police engaged in a pursuit involving an adult and a juvenile, connecting both individuals to a pair of break-ins at bars in Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park early Tuesday morning.
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Photo by Oak Lawn Police Department |
Jaren Loggins, aged 19, hailing from Chicago, faces two felony burglary charges, while a 15-year-old boy, also from Chicago, was appropriately charged as a juvenile.
At approximately 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, law enforcement responded to a report of a dubious vehicle parked near 95th Street and 55th Avenue in Oak Lawn. Officers discovered an unattended black Hyundai Elantra running in an alley. The vehicle exhibited signs of tampering, with a partially dismantled steering column and a collection of alcoholic beverages in a milk crate found nearby.
Concurrently, aware of a recent burglary at a bar in Evergreen Park just before the discovery of the suspicious vehicle, officers inspected BJ McMahon's Bar and Grill, located at 5432 S. 95th St., Oak Lawn. They observed a shattered glass front door at the bar's entrance.
Inside the establishment, which was unoccupied at the time, officers contacted the owner and determined that $150 had been stolen from the cash register. Additionally, attempts had been made to breach a safe and the video gaming machines within the bar. Abandoned at the scene were a hammer and a mask believed to be left behind by the perpetrators.
While investigating the situation at BJ McMahon's, 911 calls reported two suspicious individuals running through yards in the 9500 block of West Shore Drive. Officers subsequently located a man, later identified as Loggins, and the 15-year-old boy waiting at a bus stop near 95th Street and Parkside Avenue. The duo matched the descriptions of individuals observed trespassing through residential yards on West Shore Drive and the 9700 block of Central Avenue.
Officers from both the Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park police departments collaborated, reviewing video evidence that linked Loggins and the teenager to the burglaries. Furthermore, it was established that the Hyundai Elantra had been stolen from the 6100 block of Newgard Avenue in Chicago.
Oak Lawn police reported that Loggins and the juvenile voluntarily provided statements acknowledging their involvement in both break-ins.