July 02--Orland Park police are investigating the theft of computers, a TV and video gaming equipment from an upscale apartment building in the village's downtown.
Between 2 a.m. and 2:45 a.m. June 16, two men stole four desktop computers and a 70-inch flat-screen TV from two common areas in the Ninety7Fifty on the Park building near 143rd Street and LaGrange Road, police Cmdr. John Keating said.
He estimated that the burglars walked away with about $7,700 in stolen electronics.
Jill Herron, senior vice president with Flaherty Collins Properties, said the men grabbed an Xbox video game console from the gaming lounge as well.
Keating said security camera footage shows the burglars were tall and slender and wore hooded sweatshirts. One shielded his face with a gloved hand so police haven't been able to identify them or determine their race or age, he said.
Herron said the stolen items were replaced within a day or two.
"Unfortunately, when you have nice things out in public locations, it's not uncommon," she said of the incident.
Orland Park detectives are working with police in the north and west suburbs that have seen similar thefts from apartment buildings with common areas, Keating said.
Herron said the building's security features make it difficult for strangers to slip in unnoticed. Anyone visiting the building must be buzzed in by a resident to get past a locked vestibule, and the parking garage also has secured access.
Security guards monitor the building at night, and there are security cameras throughout, she said.
Some areas require a key fob to access, letting staff track who enters and exits those areas, but the rooms where the electronic equipment was stolen -- the gaming lounge, computer area and movie room -- aren't among them.
"The idea is residents can use it at their leisure," Herron said.
Herron said Flaherty Collins didn't feel the need to upgrade security after the "small theft," though a property manager at the Orland Park building said they will be installing tracking devices on the replacement computers.
"We just make sure we have all the resources we need that when something is damaged or removed, we can go back and make sure the person or persons have to pay," Herron said.
Keating said anyone with information on the burglary should call Orland Park police at 708-349-4111.
lzumbach@tribpub.com
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