Thanks to everyone for making our 9th annual trivia night a spectacular event. The sponsors, volunteers and especially you the attendees all came together to make it an amazing experience and we're already starting to plan the next one!  While you're looking over your results for this year, don't forget to pencil us in for next year, Feb. 2nd 2019, we'll do it even bigger and hope to see you and all your friends there.

Crime Stoppers Crime of the Week

 December 8, 2016

Officer Mike Badger, Crime Stoppers Coordinator for Sangamon and Menard counties.

This week’s Crime of the Week involves an armed robbery to the Metro PCS store on Stevenson Drive on December 3^rd at approximately 6:30 in the evening. Two black males in their late teens or twenties entered the mobile phone store and robbed the clerk of the day’s receipts and left the business northbound on foot. The perpetrators both wore black clothing and masks; handguns were used in the commission of the robbery.

For some reason the thugs that commit these type of crimes think the small amount of money they get in armed robberies is worth the years they ultimately spend behind bars for their crimes. Common sense tells us that way of thinking just doesn’t add up. Let’s lock these criminals up so they have time to learn that simple lesson.

If you want to leave an anonymous tip, call Crime Stoppers at 788-8427 or leave an anonymous tip on the Crime Stopper website cashfortips.us. We get tips and pay cash rewards to people who know right from wrong, and we fully respect all tipsters’ anonymity.

A Strong Armed Robbery occurred at Betty’s Place Video Gaming Parlor on Wabash Avenue shortly after noon on November 23rd and Crime Stoppers wants to help police solve this crime. Police have surveillance video images of the incident which began when a black female with a white sweater took a purse which belonged to a patron of the business. Another customer followed the thief outside and attempted to recover the stolen purse but was battered by the perpetrator who was able to escape southbound on foot.

On November 11 at 1130 pm the S & A Convenience Store on East Jackson was robbed by three black males, two of whom displayed handguns. The suspect’s identity was concealed however the clothing they were wearing may help identify them. Suspect one had on a blue or grey hooded sweatshirt with black sleeves and a black hood. It had an SJ logo on the left front of the hoodie and he was wearing white Nike Air Force 1’s. Suspect 2 had his zip-up hoodie inside out, it was white on the inside and probably grey on the outside with a designer emblem on the left front. Number three wore all black, a black baseball cap, and had tattoos on his right wrist.

With several recent thefts from unattended purses, and the holiday shopping season ahead, Crime Stoppers wants to bring this all too common crime to the forefront this week. We also want you to look at surveillance photos of a suspect involved in a theft from a purse at Lincoln Library in downtown Springfield. These crimes can occur anytime you are out in the public whether you’re shopping, at a business office, a doctor’s appointment, or any other public place. The thieves often quietly and quickly reach into the handbag and remove items- and are on their way within seconds. Sometimes the victims aren’t even aware that the theft took place until days later making it nearly impossible to catch the perpetrator. Crime Stoppers urges you to avoid being victimized, never leave your purse open or out of your sight.

During the past few weeks, Springfield has experienced an uptick in the number of armed robberies to convenience stores, carryout restaurants, and service stations. This is not uncommon during the late fall as the days grow shorter and chillier weather brings out jackets and longer coats. It’s also the time for small business owners to become more vigilant in securing their businesses and taking extra precautions to avoid being victimized. We remind citizens to step up in the fight against crime by reporting persons engaging in activity that seems to be suspicious or unusual. If you observe criminal activity, call police when it’s safe and make good mental notes so that you can be a good witness.

On September 10, 2016, shortly after 1 AM, a home invasion occurred at a mobile home on Imperial Valley Drive and Crime Stoppers will pay a cash reward to any person who comes forward with information that leads to the arrest of the perpetrators. There were two suspects in this case, both were masked black males who entered the home, woke the victim, and struck him in the face with the semi-automatic firearm they had threatened him with. After ransacking the home, the suspects left with jewelry and other valuables. The victim was treated and released from a local hospital.
 

Police are looking for a subject who battered an 80 year old female subject in broad daylight on a sunny Sunday afternoon after he asked her for money and she didn’t immediately comply with his demand. The incident took place at the 400 block of N 2nd in Springfield, between Madison and Carpenter, on October 16th. There’s a very good surveillance photo of the coward who punched the lady several times in the face before he took her purse and left her injured with no remorse or concern for her well-being. The victim has recovered from her injuries and the purse was found nearby, now it’s time to find this heartless and gutless criminal and lock him up.

Shortly after midnight on October 12 the new Dominos Pizza location at 2660 S Sixth Street was robbed by an armed black male subject who was wearing a ski mask. The suspect entered through the rear door of the business, pointed a revolver at an employee, and demanded cash. After his demands were complied with, the suspect left through the alley at the rear of the business. Police are processing evidence left at the scene. Crime Stoppers takes tips on all types of crimes and this is a good example of how someone can earn up to $1000 for their anonymous information. In this, as in nearly all crimes, somebody else besides the perpetrator knows who did it. Call Crime Stoppers, you don’t have to give your name, just the name of the person who committed this robbery.

There’s been a series of thefts from fitness centers in the area and Crime Stoppers needs your tips to help solve these crimes. In the past week, police have taken several reports of items being stolen from lockers in the fitness centers or from cars parked outside gyms while the victims were working out. Police are investigating these thefts and hope you can help identify the thieves. Please remember that you should never leave anything of value visible in a car and always lock your car while you’re working out. Also, secure items with padlocks in fitness center lockers. In some of these incidents, the thieves removed just the credit cards and ID’s from purses and wallets and then placed thousands of dollars of charges on the cards.

A Bank Robbery suspect has targeted banks on Springfield’s west side three times in recent weeks and Crime Stoppers has surveillance photos on our website. The first robbery occurred on September 28th at the INB branch on Chatham Road and the most recent one occurred on Friday October 7th at Chase Bank on Veterans Parkway. Crime Stoppers urges you to look at the photos on our website and see if you can identify the perpetrator. The robber was a white male, perhaps in his 40’s or 50’s. In the first two robberies he had salt and pepper hair, in the most recent one it appeared he may have dyed his hair black. He has worn button down dress shirts or a polo shirt under a jacket.