Crime & Safety

Music Dispute Results in Assault, Robbery

With the help of a resident, officers were able to locate and apprehend three men for allegedly beating and robbing a Skokie man.

A music related dispute between one man and three young adults resulted in a strong armed robbery on Dec. 26.

Police responded to the 8000 block of Kenton Avenue after a man was allegedly pummeled by three black males around 8 p.m. According to police, the victim was playing his music loudly as he pulled into his driveway. Soon after, one of the suspects shouted, "Turn that bull**** music off," the report said.

The victim denied their request and told the suspects to mind their manners, according to the report.

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It was at that point the three suspects allegedly charged over and attacked the man, the report said. The suspects mobbed on the victim, punching and kicking him in the face while removing his wallet, according to the report. The trio also attempted to remove a silver ring from the victim's finger but were unsuccessful, police said.

During the robbery, one suspect blurted, "Keep talking s*** b****, I got a gun and I'll use it on your punk ass," the report said. The suspects would later flee the scene.

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When officers arrived the victim had a swollen and bloody lip and pain in his left jaw but denied medical attention, according to the report.

Neighbors pitch in

Officers were able to find the suspects after surveying several parks and located one of them near . Meanwhile, a Skokie resident who wasn't involved in the attack called police about two suspicious males near the intersection of Oakton Street and LaCrosse Avenue. The description the caller gave 911 operators matched that of the victims, and it wasn't long before police rounded up the trio for questioning, according to the report.

In the end, Paul McGauley, 24, of the 4900 block of Hull Street, Aaron Jamal Vialdores, 18, of the 1700 block of Madison Avenue in Evanston and Bryan Anthony Record, 20, of the 4600 block of Main Street were charged with robbery.

Officers also noticed that Record had "blood shot watery eyes" and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, the report said. A Breathalyzer test would later show that Record had a blood alcohol content level of .087 and was charged with consumption of alcohol by a minor, according to police.

Officers located the victim's belongings on the said suspects, but no gun was found, according to the report.

Vialdores would later tell police that they never intended to rob the victim and that they were drinking at a friend's house prior to the incident. He added that "it all happened so fast," according to the report.

Police: Crime is down

Skokie Patch has covered a variety of armed robberies in 2011, but despite the latest police data shows that crime is actually down in Skokie.

The department's annual police report, which shows crime statistics for the entire year, will be due in February or March of 2012, police said. Yet the latest data shows that Skokie has seen a steady decline in criminal activity since 2007.

The information reveals that robberies in 2011 are down 36 percent when compared to the first nine months of 2010 (from 45 to 29). Crime overall is down 8 percent, according to that data.

The report also indicated that burglaries are down 7 percent, as are sex offenses, which are down 11 percent, and simple assault/battery, which is down 4 percent.

"I think it's a combination of things," said Police Chief Anthony Scarpelli in regards to the lower numbers this year. "I think we've put together a few new strategies that we rolled out in the past six or seven months; we're effective in reducing crime."

Crimes such as homicide, robbery, aggravated assault, battery, burglary and theft are down through the first nine months of 2011, from a total of 3,187 last year to 2,972 this year.


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