Police: Man tried to abduct 1- year- old in duffel bag
Authorities have released a sketch of a man suspected of trying to abduct a 1- yearold boy by putting the child in a duffel bag last month in northwest Indiana.
A man was outside his home with his infant son shortly after 6 p. m. on June 29 in the 7400 block of East State Route 4 near Fish Lake in LaPorte County, Indiana, according to the LaPorte County sheriff’s office. A man approached from a van at the end of the driveway, presumably broken down, and asked the homeowner for water.
The homeowner went inside to get the water, and when he came back out, he saw the suspect trying to put the 1- year- old into a duffel bag, police said. The father “confronted the suspect and physically assaulted him” before taking his son into the house.
When the father came back out, the suspect was driving away in the van, police said.
The suspect was described as a 5- 11, 200- pound white man in his 40s with a stocky build, according to police. He was unshaven and had “scruffy” brown hair.
He was wearing a white T- shirt, gray camouflage shorts and brown boots. He was driving a van similar to a silver or gray 1990s Ford Aerostar, police said. Luke Wilusz
Beverage tax hearing nixed
The hearing for the sweetened- beverage tax has been canceled, and the temporary restraining order set in place by Judge Daniel Kubasiak on June 30 will be extended to July 21.
The cancellation of the Wednesday and Thursday hearings is to allow the Illinois Retail Merchants Association time to file a motion in response to the county’s motion to dismiss the case. The merchants must respond by Friday.
Then the county will have to respond to that motion on July 19. On July 21, the judge will decide whether to dismiss the case or continue with the preliminary hearing. Rachel Hinton
Police: Man impaled leg trying to break into home
A South Chicago man impaled his leg while trying to break into his neighbor’s home early Tuesday, then lied and said he was the victim of a home invasion, according to Chicago Police.
The 55- year- old man tried to break into a neighbor’s home in the 2900 block of East 80th Street about 3: 30 a. m., according to police.
A child screamed, and the man fell off an outdoor landing, impaling his leg on a fence, police said.
He walked to the bus stop at 79th and Exchange, where someone called 911, police said. He was taken by paramedics to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
An investigation revealed that the man’s story, that three males broke into his home and stabbed him in the thigh after robbing him, was not correct, police said. Charges were pending. Ashlee Rezin
Man, 33, found dead in fire
A 33- year- old man was found dead in a fire at his home Tuesday morning in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side
Crews responded about 9: 30 a. m. to a man trapped in a burning apartment in the 3500 block of West Douglas, according to Chicago Police and Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford.
Travez Curtis was found in a room and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The apartment had working smoke detectors, according to the fire department.
The cause of the blaze was not released. Ashlee Rezin
Man awaiting Pace ride fatally shot during robbery
Aman waiting for a ride on a Pace paratransit van was shot to death during an attempted robbery Tuesday in the Avalon Park neighborhood on the South Side.
At 3: 17 a. m., the 50- year- old was standing in the lot of a gas station in the 8300 block of South Stony Island, talking to the driver of the Pace van, when a male walked up, forced the victim into the van at gunpoint and tried to take the victim’s cellphone, according to Chicago Police.
The suspect then shot the man in the right arm, chest and back. He died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. His name was not released. Ashlee Rezin, Jordan Owen