Crime & Safety

Insert Poop Joke Here: Weird Crimes

A Potta-Pottie went up in stinky flames • Neighbor is convinced golfer next door is using her lawn as a fairway • Online car purchase leads to a $14,000 headache ... This week's roundup of weird crime news in the Southland.

Written by Patch Editor Nick Swedberg

Torched Toilet


Aug. 20: Someone caused a big stink when a porta-pottie went up in flames in Tinley Park

Tinley Park firefighters extinguished a flaming portable toilet inside the Arbor Park, Tinley Park police said. The blaze was out by 11:45 a.m. but not before the damage was done.

Heat from the fire completely melted the plastic portable bathroom, which was found in the park located at Brookside Glen Drive and Newfield Lane, police said.

People who were nearby in the park reported seeing nothing out of the ordinary that day. Police were unable to find any evidence at the scene. 

Cops contacted Drop Zone, the company that owns the toilet, to let them know a report was made. 

The person who called in the fire could not be found.

Read more on Tinley Park Patch

Fore! ... Or Was It Eight?


Aug. 9: An Oak Forest woman told police she was concerned that a neighbor was practicing his swing a little too close to her home.

The resident told Oak Forest police officers that she found eight golf balls on her property. She believes that her neighbor had been hitting golf balls at her home on Parkside Avenue and she was afraid that he'll cause damage if it continues. Police spoke with a second person at the home who had found two other golf balls and also believe the neighbor was responsible.

The woman only wanted the incident documented, police said.

Read more on Oak Forest Patch

No Fun Refund


Aug. 16: A Tinley Park man might have fallen victim to an electronic swindle after paying nearly $14,000 for a Mercedes to a dealership using the auction website eBay.

The 55-year-old man had signed "legal documents" for a 2001 beige Mercedes-Benz on June 29, Tinley Park police said. A few days later, on July 2, the Tinley Park resident wired $13,700 to an Orlando, FL, based dealership. That's when the trouble started.

By July 25, the man still had not received his car and he decided to visit the Tinely Park Police Department, police said. An officer called the dealership and was told that the car was sold to somebody else. The dealer on the other end of the line told police the money would be paid back to the Tinley Park man. The cop recommended that the man also send a registered letter to the dealer requesting the money and also to contact the Illinois Attorney's General office, since it was a civil matter, if he did not get the refund.

About a week later, the Tinley Park man returned to the department when the refund had not arrived, police said. The officer placed a second call to the same man he spoke with before and learned that the refund supposedly had been sent to an address in Tennessee. The Tinley Park man came back to theon Aug. 10, still without the requested refund. The cop could only get the dealership's voicemail on the third try. Police found out six days later that the Tinley Park man had reached out to the dealership through electronic communication and had been, for the second time, assured that the refund would be wired to him. It wasn't known at the time the report was taken on Aug. 16 whether the money had been returned.

Police had collected paperwork associated with the initial sale. No arrests were reported.

Read more on Tinley Park Patch

Are you a fan of true crime? Like the Crime-n-Shame Facebook page for tales of mischief and woe from all over the Chicago area.

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