Will County sheriff warns of rash of car thefts

The Will County Sheiff’s Office is urging residents to call when seeing suspicious behavior after a rash of car thefts that included an incident Monday morning when a homeowner exchanged gunfire with a suspected thief in Peotone Township.

Police on the Will County Sheriff Facebook page said the incident followed several motor vehicle thefts in recent weeks in Wilton, Peotone, Green Garden and Monee townships in the eastern part of the county.

The incident at 3:50 a.m. Monday occurred in the 28000 block of South 80th Avenue, police said. It involved a Volkswagen SUV stolen out of Skokie that had been parked at the residence, a window of the SUV was broken and gasoline had been poured inside.

The homeowner saw two men at the side of the residence and exchanged gunfire with one of them, police said.

The two suspects then drove off in a Chevrolet Silverado that sheriff’s police later found in the 8000 block of West Offner Road during a search for the suspects.

Police said the incident followed several vehicle thefts in the area.

“Sheriff’s deputies believe that the vehicle thieves are familiar with the area and are targeting the eastern area of Will County,” sheriff’s police said on the Facebook page. “Most of the vehicles stolen have occurred in the overnight hours, however a vehicle was stolen out of an open garage in Peotone in the middle of the day while the residents were home.”

Police said that in several of the thefts, witnesses have not come forward with information about “suspicious people and vehicles in their neighborhoods. While our deputies comb neighborhoods for video surveillance or any additional information in order to catch the vehicle thieves, we have become aware that an abundance of information has not been reported that would be extremely helpful in the investigations.”

People who see suspicious activity are being asked to call 911, submit a crime tip at www.willcosheriff.org, or contact Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734 or crimestoppersofwillcounty.org. Crime Stoppers tips can be submitted anonymously.