BEAT 1431 CAPS
Meeting Minutes
May 4, 2006

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 4th at 7:00 pm at the 14th District Police Station, 2150 N. California.

Officers Present: 1431 Beat Sergeant Clark, PO Trempe, PO McNiff and PO Rios of Community Policing

Number of Beat 1431 residents present: 8

General Announcements

From April 13th through April 23rd (Again, full Citizen ICAM functionality was not working at the time of this report), Beat 1431 suffered 12 property crimes last month, a decrease of 1 from last month during a period of less than 2 weeks. There were also 4 crimes committed against people (2 battery charges, 2 domestic battery charges, 1 weapons violation and 1 theft). There was also an identity theft crime involving less than $300 at the 2300 block of N. Western.

The Latin Lovers gang continues to plague our beat and are apparently trying to regain turf they once controlled in our Beat. Reports of Latin Lover presence has been mainly in sections 4 and 5. Ranking LL members have been seen regularly loitering at Goethe Elementary School during and after school dismissal and are believed to be trying to recruit school children.

Residents again are strongly encouraged to call Graffiti Blasters (dial 311) to report incidences of graffiti. Anyone can call and report graffiti at a particular location, you do not have to own or reside at the particular vandalized property to report the crime. Also, the police suggested asking for the Service Request Number (SRN) that is assigned to your request in case your request goes unanswered for several days. You can call 311 again and ask for a status update on your SRN (you can also share this SRN with friends and have them inquire as well).

The Senior Citizen Program within the CPD is currently warning citizens of a "$299 Ring" scam asking "Medicare Beneficiaries for money and checking account information over the telephone to enroll in a non-existent Medicare prescription drug plan. The scheme has been named the '$299 Ring' after the amount of money the Medicare Beneficiaries are talked into authorizing to be deducted from their checking accounts to pay for this plan." Victims of this scam should call SAFERX at (877) 772-3379. Residents should be aware of the following rights:
1) No one can enter their home uninvited
2) No one can ask for personal information during their marketing activities
3) Always keep all personal information, such as your Medicare number safe, just as you would with a credit card or a bank account number.

Finally, there is a Mother/Daughter Day event scheduled for Saturday, May 20th from 9am - 2pm at the Humboldt Park Field House promoting the following:
- Healthy relationships and teen dating violence
- Domestic violence in the immigrant community
- Elder abuse
- Abuse of animals
- Free facials and manicures will be offered from Mary Kay Cosmetics and there will be free products from Avon. Child care and lunch will be provided.
For more information call PO Laura Kramer at 312-744-1261.


SECTION 1
1) Drug activity at 2113 Bingham has decreased over the last month and was reportedly quiet.
2) A property at Chinay St. and Point St. was badly tagged on both sides with layers of warring gang graffiti (Latin Lovers, Cobras and Kings). A resident saw one of the vandals and his description was passed along to the police.
3) The police have talked with a ranking Cobra member to stop the amount of graffiti in this section and our beat.
4) Well known gang members including Lino Quinn and Tony Crespo were seen loitering in the section but were thought to be merely visiting their old neighborhood. They do not currently live in the area.
5) One evening last month, a resident was mugged in the alley at Milwaukee and Bingham around midnight.
6) An apartment at 2067 N. Bingham was broken into on Easter Sunday between 8am and Noon. The thief broke a window to access the apartment and apparently only stole loose change.
7) The local delinquent named "Tank" who used to frequent section 1 has moved to Cicero with his mother and is not expected to be seen in the area for the foreseeable future.
8) There is a meeting Thursday, May 11th at 6:30pm at Chase Elementary School regarding community interest in placing a police camera at the intersection of Stave and Francis.
action: Residents are strongly urged to keep calling 911. The more calls, the more attention this area should receive. Also, please call 311 to remove graffiti in the area whether it is your property or not that has been vandalized. Police are required for continued presence in area paying particular attention to the property at 2113 Bingham.

SECTION 2
1) Notorious felon, Anthony Jones will be released from the penitentiary in the next month and is expected to return to this section (He previously lived at 2206 Campbell last year). He is a known sex offender (targeting prostitutes) and member of the Maniac Latin Disciple gang. The police and First Ward Alderman's office are aware of his pending release.

SECTION 3
1) Police reported the presence of 2 Maniac Latin Disciple gang members in the area of Milwaukee and Campbell last month.
action: This section has seen more gang activity over the last 2 months. Residents are strongly encouraged to call 911.

SECTION 4
1) High ranking Latin Lover gang members have been seen loitering in the diagonal parking at Goethe Elementary School at Lyndale and Talman avenues during school dismissal. These same members have also been loitering at the same location between 7-9pm every Friday and Saturday evening. They have been seen driving a dark red 2 door Chevy Blazer, a blue two toned Lincoln Continental and a white Dodge Caravan with black striping and tinted windows. These ranking members are not residents of this beat.
PO Rios has been making her presence at the dismissal of Goethe Elementary School her priority for the last several weeks to help ensure the safety of the children. She has voiced concern that the school allows students to linger on the playground without adult supervision.
2) "Wheelchair Tony" has been seen being pushed in his wheelchair down the middle of streets in this section. This individual is often seen on Milwaukee avenue in our beat and is usually looking for cars to break into. He is notorious for throwing a spark plug at a car window, making it shatter, allowing him to push in the window to steal whatever is inside. Anyone who sees this criminal being pushed down a street should immediately call 911 and describe his whereabouts.
action: Goethe Elementary School and surrounding diagonal parking continues to be rife with Latin Lover gang activity. Something needs to be done to protect the school, school children and residents surrounding the area from this gang. Residents must continue to call 911 to bring more police attention to this problem.

SECTION 5
1) The van being driven by the gang members who smashed the windows of 8 cars on Fairfield on March 31st was recovered by the police.
2) Another resident confirmed the drug activity reported around 2443 - 2445 N. California in the alley. This activity was originally reported by residents at last month's CAPS meeting. The drug dealing apparently occurs at all hours of the day and witnessed in the alley behind these properties.
3) Police informed the attendees that there are a few older (40+) Latin Lover members who live around 2415 Fairfield. They have been seen in front of their property and giving guidance to younger gang members in the area.
4) Haas Park is not being locked during the evenings. In the past, the police were responsible for locking the basketball courts, but apparently no longer. The police did indicate the no one is allowed to stay in the kiddie park unless they are playing basketball.
action: Drug and Latin Lover gang activity has been reported for the last two months. Residents of this section should call 911 at the sight of a crime and are encouraged to attend the beat meetings to help provide more information and support.

SECTION 6
1) The homeless problem is much better than it has been in the past. The police have been doing a good job dispersing the homeless away from the area, especially around the expressway. They have also found numerous homeless people living amidst the garbage cans behind St. John Berchman's Church.
2) At 7pm in the evening on April 11th, a resident saw two males loitering at the corner of Maplewood and Altgeld for a long time. Thought to be drug dealers, one was about 5'10" with dark hair in a pony tail, the other was shorter, skinnier with a closely shaven pencil beard.
3) On April 22nd, Cheerios gang graffiti was reported at 2500 N. Rockwell. The tagging was done very large in blue paint and read: "RIP DEPT 385 BURGZ". A resident called 311 and received the SRN 00680541. If this graffiti is not cleared, residents are encouraged to check back with 311 on this request number.
4) During the late afternoon of May 3rd, a resident reported seeing a thin Latino male leave 2513 N. Artesian to make a drug deal on the corner of Artesian and Altgeld. This same individual was also seen making a drug deal on the north side of Altgeld, where it meets the alley between Artesian and Western.
5) The Goon brothers have been seen driving a blue van.
6) Cheerios gang members have been seen circling the section. Ivan Burmudez has been seen in a white 4 door Dodge Durango SUV, IL plate #963 3945. Ricky Fischer has been seen in a dark red/maroon Nissan, IL plate # 515 5364.
7) There is a red station wagon with expired temporary IL plates #780F907 that has been seen in this section.
action: The Cheerios gang activity needs to be addressed by law enforcement. This gang and their graffiti continues to be a blight in this section. Residents should continue to call 911.

Recurring Problem Areas for BEAT 1431
1) Gang loitering and recruiting
2) Gang graffiti
3) Gang drug trafficking

DISCLAIMER
Beat 1431 CAPS volunteers prepared these meeting minutes to the best of their ability.