April 23, at approximately 11 a.m., officers received a report of HVAC equipment being stolen from Gracie’s Lucky Burrito on Monee-Manhattan Road. Officers were able to secure video of the theft and subsequently utilized other area business surveillance to identify the suspects. Camera evidence in Park Forest and Chicago Heights also implicated the two suspects in burglaries that had occurred in their communities. On April 25, while working with other agencies, the suspects were identified as Daniel Pollack, 31, of Monee, and Jonathan Vasquez, 47, of Chicago Heights. On April 27, Vazquez was arrested by Chicago Heights Police for a car burglary, and the suspect vehicle was positively identified. MPD officers then canvassed several local scrap yards in search of Gracie’s HVAC equipment. While at Big Daddy Scrap in Chicago Heights, Pollack and Vasquez showed up with a load of more scrap. They were taken into custody and transported for the felony burglary.
April 25, at approximately 7 a.m., officers took a theft report from Iroquois Paving Corp. The foreman indicated nearly $10,000 worth of parts were taken from the Court Street construction site overnight. Investigations is following up.
April 25, at approximately 6:30 p.m., a traffic stop for no license plates ended with a felony driving while revoked charge for Lee Washington, 34, of Richton Park. Washington was processed and bonded.
April 26, at approximately 8:30 a.m., officers took a theft report from an elderly Monee couple. The victims had been conned out of $15,000 cash when they received a call their granddaughter was in need of bond money in Crown Point. They arranged the delivery through a Lyft driver and sent the money to the people, who would ‘bond out’ the granddaughter. The granddaughter had never been arrested, but fortunately a suspicious Lyft driver turned the cash over to Crown Point PD. MPD was able to reunite the victim with their savings.
April 27, at approximately 12 a.m., a traffic stop led to the arrest of Geraldo Drake, 35, of Chicago Heights, for driving while suspended and operating a vehicle with a suspended registration.
April 28, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Leslie McGee, 41, of Monee was arrested for obstructing police and driving while revoked. Ms. McGee utilized a relative’s name to avoid a ticket. A short investigation by officers determined that Ms. McGee was lying to avoid a revoked charge. She was transported.
April 29, at approximately 4:30 p.m., an officer witnessed a subject pull out of the Thornton lot on Monee-Manhattan Road near I-57, while making an illegal left turn going eastbound. The officer activated his lights to attempt a traffic stop. The male driver immediately accelerated away from the squad car, crossing into the oncoming traffic of the center lane, and running red stop lights at I-57 and Egyptian Trail. The driver then ran the stop sign at Rt. 50 and proceeded northbound. The vehicle, a Dodge Challenger, accelerated at such a high speed the officer lost sight of the vehicle as it entered University Park. Continuing northbound, the vehicle passed a University Park Officer near the Governors Highway, Cicero Avenue split. The vehicle was believed to be well in excess of 100-mph at that time.
As the UP officer turned around, the Monee officer joined him northbound at Cicero. The offending vehicle continued on, running another red light at Cicero and University Parkway. This time, the offender struck two other units, disabling all three and sending five people to area hospitals for minor injuries. University Park handled the crash scene, while MPD took the offender into custody after he was treated for his injuries at Olympia Fields. Jonathan A. Almonord, 23, of Richton Park, was charged with felony aggravated fleeing/attempting to elude officers at least 21-mph over the limit, felony aggravated fleeing/attempting to elude officers causing bodily injury, aggravated fleeing/attempting to elude officers causing property damage >$300, and aggravated fleeing/attempting to elude officers with two or more disobedience of traffic devices. Almonord also was charged with driving while suspended and a multitude of other traffic devices. He was processed and transported to Will County Detention.
Do you have information of a crime or have you witnessed suspicious activity? Are you a victim or know someone who needs assistance? Don’t stand on the sidelines! Don’t be a victim! Call MPD at 708-534-8308 or email moneepolice@villageofmonee.org.