Riverside police
A suburban police chief wants to create a metro area task force to address a recent spike in carjackings that he says is “not only a Chicago problem.”
Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said the suburbs could benefit from a regional task force that mimics the one started a year ago by the Chicago Police Department.
A combined effort with Chicago and suburban police departments, the FBI, ATF, sheriff’s office, Cook County state’s attorney office and federal prosecutors “would go a long way in quickly shutting down these violent robberies,” Weitzel said.
“We’ve seen a disturbing number of carjackings the past few months in the area surrounding Riverside,” Weitzel said. “This crime is screaming for a regional response.”
File photo
A Berwyn man suspected in 15 car burglaries in Riverside was arrested Saturday while riding a bike in the western suburb, police said.
Joshua Rivera was allegedly wearing 10 T-shirts and five pairs of pants at the time, Riverside police said in a statement.
To elude officers, he would remove a layer each time he was caught on video stealing from cars, police said.
Police said Rivera biked to Riverside from his hometown Berwyn to commit the burglaries.
About 6 a.m. Saturday, someone alerted police to a man trying to steal from cars in the 300 block of Robinson Court, police said. Officers responded and arrested Rivera as he biked near 35th Street and Maple Avenue in Berwyn. He allegedly had cash and coins on him.
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