Three juveniles charged in August burglary of Riverside pub

RIVERSIDE - Riverside Police Thursday charged three male juveniles with felony burglary and theft in connection with an Aug. 17 burglary at Mollie’s Public House.

Charged with burglary is a 16-year-old male of North Riverside and a 17-year-old male of Chicago. Charged with theft by possession is a 17-year-old male from Riverside, police said.

Riverside detectives received leads after doing a canvas of the immediate area adjacent to Mollie’s Public House, 31 Forest Ave., and through social media video posts.

During a canvas of an apartment complex, police found a male matching the description in the video from the burglary. The male juvenile subsequently confessed.

Police, while taking the 16-year-old Riverside resident into custody, saw one of the other offenders exit a vehicle on Forest Avenue and walk up to the apartment to meet the juvenile who was in custody.

Police pursued the male from the 100 block of Forest to the rear of Hauser Central School, 65 Woodside Road. He was taken into custody without incident or injury. During the course of interviews, a third offender was identified.

The juveniles were turned over to their parents.

Police recovered 15 bottles of liquor from an apartment on Forest Avenue that had been stolen from Mollie's Public House.

"This arrest was a direct result from detectives doing foot canvasses in the area and knocking on doors in an attempt to get further witness statements,” Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said in a statement.

“Also, video from the business played a key role in solving this crime. Once Riverside police posted that video on their Twitter account, the offenders saw it. One of the offenders lived on the same block as the business and all three offenders at one time had lived in Riverside and attended Riverside Brookfield High School, but two had recently moved, one to North Riverside and the other to Oak Lawn.”