BEAT 1431 CAPS
Meeting Minutes
April 2nd, 2009

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 7th, 2009 at 7:00 pm at the 14th District Police Station, 2150 N. California.

Officers Present: PO Trempe, PO Komo, PO Gomez, SGT Giambrone, PO Navarro, PO Wiselo, PO Rapacz

Number of Beat 1431 residents present: 17

Go directly to the following sections:
General Announcements
CLEARMap
Court Advocacy
Reported Shots Fired Beat Map
Beat 1431 Section Reports

General Announcements
Jim Rhodes, Beat 1431 CAPS Facilitator announced a number of programs over the month of April within the 14th District.

Clothing Drive at the 14th District Police Station
March 23rd - April 10th

Kite Flying Event at Humboldt Park
April 5th - 11th

Humboldt Park Earth Clean Up Day
April 18th

Citywide Clean and Green
Saturday April 25th

For a complete list of activities, contact the 14th District Police Station, 2150 N. California Ave., (312)744-8290

Auto Theft Prevention
PO Rapacz addressed the CAPS meeting with advice on preventing auto theft. Below are a number of measures to help prevent your car from being stolen:
- Always try to park in well-lit, heavily traveled areas, as close to your destination as possible.
- When you park, always roll the windows up tight, lock all doors, and take the keys with you.
- Never leave your car with the motor running, even if only for a minute to run into a store or your home.
- Never hide spare keys in a secret place or in a magnetic key box under the hood. Car thieves routinely check the visors and ash trays and look under floor mats for keys. If you feel better with spare keys close at hand, carry them with you in separate locations.
- Some thieves use tow trucks to take cars. To avoid being towed by a thief, turn your wheels toward the curb and apply your emergyency brake.
- Leave your car in gear or park. When parking a front-wheel-drive car, place your vehicle in park and apply the emergency brake. If you have a stick shift, put the gear into forward or reverse and apply the emergency brake.
- If you have a garage, use it. Lock both your car and the garage.
- Avoid leaving your automatic garage door opener in your car. Don't make it easy for a thief who enters your garage through a side door and breaks into your car to get the vehicle out.
- Keep your vehicle's title at home, not in the glove compartment of your car. This will prevent a thief from using the title to "prove" he owns the car.

For further information, contact Preventative Programs, 312-745-5835.

CLEARMap (formerly Citizen ICAM)
From March 1st - 31st, according to CLEARMap, Beat 1431 suffered 63 crimes, an increase of 14 from last month (49):
- 1 AGGRAVATED ASSAULT *
- 3 AGGRAVATED BATTERY *
- 4 BURGLARY *
- 3 DRUG ABUSE VIOLATIONS
- 1 FORGERY AND COUNTERFEITING
- 4 FRAUD
- 8 LARCENY THEFT *
- 10 MISCELLANEOUS NON-INDEX OFFENSES
- 4 MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT *
- 1 ROBBERY *
- 5 SIMPLE ASSAULT
- 12 SIMPLE BATTERY
- 7 VANDALISM

* indicates index crimes (most serious offenses)

Click here to view table of all reported crimes (new window)

Beat 1431 Court Advocacy Report
1) April 13th at Branch 50 at 9am for Spanish Lord gang member Octavio Almanza in possession of a .45 caliber hand gun with laser sight.
2) William Gonzalez charged in the battery arrest on the 2600 block of W. Fullerton will be in court at 1:30pm also on April 13th at Grand and Central, 5555 W. Grand.

Reported Shots Fired Beat Map

Beat 1431 Section Reports
SECTION 1 (Borders: California, Milwaukee, Armitage)
1) Graffiti continues to be an issue.
2) Homeless have been drinking in the public way in front of the 7/11 near Francis Pl.
3) SGT Giambrone reported the following arrests:
- 5 MLD gang members were arrested on Fairfield for graffiti and possession of a hand gun
- A Spanish Lord gang member named Octavio Almanza was arrested in possession of a .45 caliber handgun with a laser sight. The court date is set for April 13th at Branch 50 at 9am.
- Officers arrested a young male on felony graffiti charges (responsible for over 5 counts of graffiti)
- Undercover officers made a felony arrest involving two men who approached a woman in an alley near North and Milwaukee. The men were also in possession of a stolen car partially parked in an unfinished garage.
- On March 5th, officers arrested Timothy Bailey Woodson believed to be involved in a murder case in Bloomingdale, the court date is in Dupage County. Woodson is also believed to be involved in several cases of arson and petty theft around our Beat.
- An individual living on the 2500 block of Lyndale was arrested for delivering 100 - 500 grams of cocaine.
- A "Drinking Alcohol in the Public Way" arrest was made on the 2100 block of California Ave. on March 6th.
- A "Criminal Trespass to State Land" arrest was made on the 2200 block of Milwaukee Ave. on March 15th.
- A "Physical Contact" battery arrest was made on the 2100 block of Milwaukee Ave. on March 17th.
- An "Issuance of Warrant" arrest was made on the 2300 block of Milwaukee Ave. on March 17th.
- A "Bodily Harm" battery arrest was made on the 2800 block of Henry Ct. on March 28th.
- A "Domestic Battery" arrest was made on the 2000 block of Milwaukee Ave. on March 28th.
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti.

SECTION 2 (Borders: Rockwell, Lyndale, Western, Milwaukee)
1) A resident reported an arrest made on March 22nd at 2:20am for an unlawful use of a weapon on the 2100 block of Milwaukee. This occurred during an evening of a dj event at Congress Theater. At the time of the show, residents complained of very loud music and traffic circulating around the theater into Bingham St. A white limo carrying a number of disruptive kids stopped in front of a property and started drinking and littering their bottles on the ground.
Max, a representative from Congress Theater, was in attendance at the meeting and he mentioned that most of the crowd they attract use public transportation. Regardless, Max mentioned he spoke with the alderman's office to get employees from the department of revenue to write tickets to illegally parked cars. Residents also discussed alternatives for traffic flow around the theater. Both the ticketing and traffic flow issues were discussed as matters for Jerry Gabbrielatos at the alderman's office to help address.
2) A property at 2036 Campbell, (corner of Campbell and McLean) was vandalized with gang graffiti on March 16th.
3) Spanish Lords gang activity has been reported on Campbell.
4) The owner of Congress Pizza did not appear for the CAPS meeting for the 5th consecutive month.
5) A resident reported a robbery at the CVS on Milwaukee Ave. during the afternoon last Thursday, March 26th. 6 - 7 teen age kids ran in and out the pharmacy robbing the store of liquor. As they went out the back doors, they flashed their guns and escaped. According to this resident, CVS did not call the police. SGT Giambrone mentioned that 911 should be called during these crimes. Security cameras might have recorded the crime and officers said they would review the recording.
6) SGT Giambrone reported the following arrests:
- On March 17th there was an arrest made at the Congress Theater involving a concertgoer who was disrespectful and started a skirmish with a 14th district police officer.
- A "Criminal Damage to Property" arrest was made on the 2200 block of Rockwell St. on March 12th.
- There were 4 battery arrests in connection with a Congress Theater event on the 28th of February.
7) SGT Giambrone also reported that the MLDs who are active south of our Beat at Talman and Wabansia and Rockwell and Cortland have been periodically entering our Beat - recently involved in a mugging near Armitage and Western Ave.
action: Jerry Gabrielatos to help address parking and traffic flow problems around Congress Theater events.

SECTION 3 (Borders: Rockwell, Fullerton, Western, Lyndale)
1) A resident reported that there is an abandoned building on the 2300 block of Maplewood that is being used for party and drug activity. There were also rumors that a rape occurred at this location, however, SGT Giambrone said there were no reports of such a crime.
2) SGT Giambrone reported a robbery on March 17th at 9:30pm, there was a robbery involving a gun at Domino's Pizza on the 2400 block of Fullerton. The suspect is a White Hispanic male, 30 years old, bald, 5' 5" at 160lbs. He was wearing a blue polo shirt, white pants with a dark green or black handkerchief covering his face.
action: Spanish Lord gang activity has been reported near this area and Section 2, residents are urged to call 911 for any gang activity.

SECTION 4 (Borders: California, Fullerton, Rockwell, Milwaukee)
1) Gang graffiti was reported on properties along Lyndale avenue between Washtenaw and Talman. Black, upside down pitchforks were seen on a blue vinyl sided garage behind the Blockbuster and Bubbleland shopping center. SGT Giambrone mentioned that the black upside down pitchforks are intended to communicate disrespect from a rival gang to the MLD activity coming from the south of our Beat.
2) Representatives from Tini Martini attended the CAPS meeting at the request of CAPS due to the periodic reported concerns with their patrons over the last several months. CAPS facilitator, Jim Rhodes, emphasized to the representatives present that they are our neighbors and that they need to maintain "nice relations" out of respect of the neighborhood. The head of the security detail mentioned that they hired additional men to help manage patrons leaving at closing time to their cars.
3) A resident reported hearing 4 gun shots between 2-3am April 1st in the alley between Belden and Medill. This resident also heard rumors that there might be gang members who recently moved into this area on Medill from Milwaukee, WI.
4) SGT Giambrone reported the following arrests:
- An arrest for "Manufacturing and Delivery of 30 - 500 Grams of Cannabis Near a School" was made on the 2200 block of Talman Ave., on March 26th. The offender arrested is Alberto Tobias.
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti.

SECTION 5 (Borders: California, Logan Boulevard, Rockwell, Fullerton)
1) Graffiti was reported at the new skate park that is now open on Logan Blvd. under the Kennedy Expressway. Officers believe there will be a lot more tagging (non-gang related) in the area around the skate park.
2) SGT Giambrone reported the following arrests:
- A "Battery Causing Bodily Harm" arrest was made on the 2600 block of Fullerton Ave., on March 17th.
- A "Criminal Damage to Property" arrest was made on the 2700 block of Fullerton Ave., on March 23rd.


SECTION 6 (Borders: Rockwell, Logan Boulevard, Western, Fullerton)
1) SGT Giambrone reported the following arrests:
- An "Issuance of Warrant" arrest was made on the 2500 block of Artesian Ave., on March 8th.
- An "Issuance of Warrant" arrest was made on the 2500 block of Fullerton Ave., on March 11th.
action: Residents are strongly urged to call 911 to report gang activity and 311 for graffiti

Recurring Problem Areas for BEAT 1431
1) Gang graffiti
2) Gang drug activity
3) Gang weapons violence

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