On Friday, June 30, 2017, several Morrison, IL, residents awoke to a disturbing reality. During the early morning, each had become a victim of crimes along their quiet residential street. As numerous reports were being filed with the Morrison Police Department, it became clear the 600 and 700 blocks of W. Park Street were becoming a communal crime scene.
By early afternoon, Chief Brian Melton and Officer Dan Simmons were on scene, processing “20 confirmed formal complaints, at this point.” Melton expected to confirm “one more.” All the victims called the Police. He displayed a simple spreadsheet of data that included the crimes committed:
- entering, rummaging, and ransacking vehicles
- theft of personal property–cash, cigarettes, iPads, tablets, a charger, and more
- starting fires inside three vehicles.
“Every one of these vehicles was unlocked. There was no damage” done upon entry, said Chief Melton. “These were crimes of opportunity. What is more troubling are the three fires they started. That is Arson.”
He urged the community to lock their vehicle, garage, and residence doors as a precaution–“even though this is Morrison.”
Call Morrison Police Department, he asked, if you have any information about these thefts and acts of Arson. Someone may have been awake in the early hours of June 30 to see or hear what happened to their neighbors. Call the Police Department at 815-772-7650 or Whiteside County Crime Stoppers at 815-625-7867.
The three vehicles in this photograph were targeted. The dark blue, 1997 Dodge Dakota, at right, was burgled. Owner Steve Swanson reported, “They took all the console stuff and stole several flashlights.” His father Roland‘s vehicle was entered by criminals, too. He lives in the green house at 609 W. Park Street.
Steve Meyers, left, and an unidentified neighbor converse about the morning spate of crimes on their street. Both men’s pickup trucks were entered.
Additionally, “They tried to start a fire on the front carpet,” stated Meyers.
The other man’s 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 truck was burgled. “They broke into my truck and shuffled around through my stuff.” When asked if anything was taken, the man answered, “Not that I saw. It’s not the first time. [This happened] once before in the last few months.” His wife’s vehicle was molested, too.
CSI Angela Matthews from the State Police Crime Scene Unit of Rockford, IL, was present to “process evidence,” said Chief Melton, “both latent prints and footprints, DNA, and other evidence.” She is shown dusting Meyers’s door panels for fingerprints. His truck is a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado.
