Monee Gaming Machine Burglary Spurs Flock Alert, Peotone Response

Article Summary: Three masked offenders broke into gaming machines at a Monee convenience store while it was open with employees and customers present, and a suspected getaway vehicle was detected in Peotone minutes later. No one was injured, and no arrests have been reported.

Investigation Key Points:

Monee police responded to the Thorntons at 25451 S. Ridgeland Ave. at about 2:52 a.m. Aug. 28.

Three offenders, described as masked and gloved and carrying sledgehammers and pry tools, targeted gaming machines and left within minutes; no employees or customers were injured.

Monee police said witness interviews and surveillance video showed no individual was targeted and no robbery occurred.

Peotone police received a Flock Safety camera alert at 3:06 a.m. for a slate-gray sports car, which fled north on Interstate 57 before a traffic stop could be made.

MONEE — Three masked offenders carrying sledgehammers and pry tools targeted gaming machines at the Thorntons at 25451 S. Ridgeland Ave. early Aug. 28 while the business was open with employees and customers present, the Monee Police Department said.

Officers responded at about 2:52 a.m. The offenders were masked and gloved and were in and out of the business within minutes, the department said. No employees or customers were injured.

Police said witness interviews and a review of surveillance video showed that no individual person was targeted and that no robbery occurred. The department cited the Illinois statutes defining robbery, 720 ILCS 5/18-1, and burglary, 720 ILCS 5/19-1. The business closed for a brief period for crime scene processing. Investigators are working leads and the investigation is ongoing, the department said.

About 14 minutes later, at 3:06 a.m., the Peotone Police Department received a Flock Safety camera alert for a vehicle believed to have been involved in the Monee incident, described as a slate-gray sports car, that department said.

A Peotone officer located the vehicle pulling into the Peotone Travel Center, stopped outside the building’s south entrance, according to the department. The driver began leaving as the officer arrived, traveled through the parking lot and gas pumps and fled northbound on Interstate 57 at a high rate of speed before a traffic stop could be initiated, police said.

Peotone police said they believe the camera alert and the officer’s response likely disrupted or prevented another burglary, robbery or more serious crime in the village. The department said the vehicle has reportedly been associated with other gaming-related crimes in the suburban area, and that it will continue working with other law-enforcement agencies to identify and apprehend those responsible.