Residents Report Rash of Car Burglaries, Mailbox Destruction in Lake Zurich

Lake Zurich police received at least 12 reports of car burglaries and trespass and another 10 reports of damaged mailboxes over the weekend.

Commander David Bradstreet said police are investigating the crimes.

“We don’t know if they are related; we don’t know if it’s Halloween mischief or an organized crew,” he said.

Bradstreet said police are developing leads on the series of crimes.

While the car burglaries occurred throughout Lake Zurich, the damaged mailboxes were confined to the Countryside West subdivision.

“The car burglaries were in Cedar Creek, Prairie, practically every neighborhood,”  Bradstreet said.

Some of the incidents were classified as trespass to motor vehicle because nothing was taken. In the car burglaries, items missing ranged from $25 in cash to a $250 GPS system. Most of those incidents were reported Saturday morning.

The mailbox destruction was reported Sunday morning, with most incidents occurring on the 100 block of East Harbor Drive.

Bradstreet said it appears the mailboxes were hit with a hard object.

Bradstreet said incidents of mailbox damage are usually done by high school kids. He said the car burglaries could be teenagers, but also could be from an organized crew. He said it is not unusual for organized crews to go into the suburbs and commit these types of crimes.