This week Crime Stoppers is seeking to assist the Springfield Police Department to identify a suspect in reference to a burglary and theft that occurred on two different occasion’s on October 22^nd and November 4^th at Abelardos Mexican Restaurant located at 1610 W Jefferson, in Springfield.  Both times a male suspect is seen arriving in a white sedan in the early morning hours.  The male suspect, using bolt cutters, breaks into a detached freezer stealing over a thousand dollars’ worth of meat.  Photos of the individual(s) can be found on this website, cashfortips.us. If you have any information regarding this incident or can identify the suspect, call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 217-788-8427, submit a tip on this website, or use the P3 app. If your tip results in an arrest you could receive a cash reward up to $2500.  Remember Crime Stoppers only wants your information, not your name.

Crime Stoppers Report of the Week

 January 12, 2017

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

Crime Stoppers is a not-for-profit, 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to assisting police by paying rewards for information about criminals and criminal activity. We want to help make our communities safer; and last year we had many successes which were covered in news stories throughout the year. We’ve even initiated special programs to help identify and apprehend those involved in gun violence, such as the special reward for information leading to the arrest of the person -or persons- involved in the homicide of young Alaysia Bennett.

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

In recent years there has been a gradual, but steady increase in gun violence in our country and the loss of life continues to grow. On December 20th 19 year old Alaysia Bennett was killed when a barrage of bullets was fired into a vehicle occupied by her and four other persons, one of them a 3 year old baby. The senseless end of this young girl’s life, a girl who had a bright future ahead of her, brings focus on the dangerous state of affairs we are faced with in the world today- not to mention the near miss of an even greater unimaginable tragedy that could have taken place on that night.
 

Crime Stoppers Crime of the Week
 December 29, 2016

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

Crime Stoppers thanks all of you in Sangamon and Menard Counties for your ongoing support of our program as we close out a  successful year. There was a dramatic increase in the number of tips from the public in 2016 and as a result, we saw a 19% increase in arrests from the previous year. In total there were over 100 arrests directly attributed to Crime Stopper tips leading the Board of Directors of Crime Stoppers to approve over $30,000 in rewards to anonymous tipsters. As a further testament to people’s desire to get involved and help stop criminal activity in the area, there were over two dozen tipsters who did not want a reward even though the information they gave us resulted in an arrest.
 

Crime Stoppers Crime of the Week
 December 22, 2016
 
Officer Mike Badger, Crime Stoppers Coordinator for Sangamon and Menard counties.
 
This week Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information about an armed robbery to the Family Video store at 19th and North Grand Avenue in Springfield. In the robbery, which occurred shortly after 9 p.m. on December 16th, a white male in his 30’s wearing a tan Carhart  jacket over a dark gray hooded sweatshirt entered the business, indicated he had a handgun, and threatened to shoot the employees. The suspect was described as being approximately 5’11” with a medium build and had light brown or blonde hair. Detectives are reviewing surveillance video of the incident and ID technicians are processing evidence which was collected at the scene. Crime Stoppers is going to pay a cash reward to the person who gives information that helps identify the suspect leading to his arrest.
 
Call the Crime Stopper tip line at 788-8427 to leave an anonymous tip. We also invite you to check out the Crimestopper website Cashfortips.us, remember you also can leave a tip on the website. Let’s put this criminal behind bars.
 
 
 

Crime Stoppers Crime of the Week December 15, 2016 Officer Mike Badger, Crime Stoppers Coordinator for Sangamon and Menard counties. Crime Stoppers is looking for information about guns which were stolen in a burglary to Letz Hunt and Sport in October. Some of these guns have already been used in shooting incidents in the Springfield area and were probably the weapons used in a number of the recent armed robberies. It’s time for those with knowledge of the whereabouts of these weapons to come forward with information- before additional innocent persons are victimized or worse yet, killed. A failure to take action to prevent a tragic incident is something that just shouldn’t happen. There were 53 weapons stolen in the burglary and although police have recovered several of them, many more remain in Springfield and they need to be taken off the street. If Crime Stoppers gets information that helps in the recovery of a large quantity of weapons we might end up paying the highest reward we’ve ever paid in Springfield. Call us with your tips at 788-8427 or leave a tip on the website cashfortips.us. All tips are anonymous, all rewards are cash, and any information could help save an innocent life.

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.