Vehicle burglaries, theft  of copper pipes reported

• Reprints

Updated: November 10, 2011 5:54PM

Elgin

Burglary to vehicles: A resident in the 900 block of Congdon Avenue told police that a side window on his 2001 Saturn was forced open and that a GPS unit and stereo faceplate were taken sometime Wednesday night. A resident in the 900 block of Carriage Way reported to police that a window was smashed on his 2005 Hyundai sometime overnight Wednesday and that the GPS unit was taken from that vehicle.

Copper taken from empty home: The agent of a house for sale in the 400 block of South State Street told police Thursday that the empty home was entered on an unknown date and that someone cut out and took all of the copper piping from the basement, as well as copper piping to the refrigerator.

Burglary to parked cars: Two cars parked in the lot of an apartment building had windows smashed and items stolen from them in the early hours of Friday morning in the 900 block of Carriage Way. According to police, the driver’s window of one car was smashed and a Garmin GPS and a Cobra radar detector were removed from the dashboard. In the second incident, the passenger side window of another car in the lot was smashed and a cloth bag containing a college text-book and a volt/ohm meter reader was stolen.

Vehicle stolen: Sometime between 5:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. on Friday, a black Ford Probe was stolen from the driveway of a residence in the 600 block of Alice Place. The owner told police the car was unlocked and the keys had been left in the car.

Cable meter stolen: A Comcast cable installer reported the theft of a $3,200 meter he was using at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday while he was working in the 1000 block of Larkin Court. The man told police that he set the instrument down near some cable boxes while he went to his truck just a few yards away and when he returned, the meter was gone.

Cars vandalized in traffic: Two drivers reported damage to their cars while driving in school neighborhoods around 3 p.m. Friday. A woman told police she was stopped at a light at Larkin Avenue and Edison Street when she heard a crashing sound coming from the rear of her car and discovered that her rear passenger window had been smashed. She said she did not see anyone in the area, but noted that Larkin High School had just let out. In the second incident, a car’s driver’s side mirror was shattered shortly after 3 p.m. while the car was traveling west on Laurel Street by the east side parking lot of Ellis Middle School. The driver told police that he was passed by a black, older model Ford Explorer with five male Hispanics between the ages of approximately 17 and 21. The man riding in the front passenger seat threw a ceramic mug at the car, causing damage to the driver’s side mirror. The driver said he followed the Explorer into the school’s parking lot, but turned around when he saw the car turn and head toward him. The Explorer reportedly followed the victim for a short time after that.

Forgery: A 19-year-old Elgin woman was arrested and charged with forgery at 6 p.m. Friday after she attempted to cash a check at a business in the 0-100 block of Clock Tower Plaza. Police said that Miranda A. Connor of Franklin Boulevard tried to cash a check made out to her from Elgin Toyota Scion in the amount of $878.43. Police were called when the check was suspected to be a forgery and Connor was taken into custody.

West Dundee

Sex offender registration, criminal damage: Michael G. Russo, 51, of Chicago, was charged with failure to register as a sex offender and criminal damage to property stemming from his arrest Thursday in West Dundee. Police said Russo did not register as a sex offender at his Chicago address, and that he damaged windows at a residence on the 400 block of Edwards Avenue in West Dundee. Bail was set at $20,000, and he was given a Sept. 29 court date