(AURORA) A 47-year-old west suburban is accused of duping two store clerks into giving him cash during a series of ruses last month in Aurora.
John Loresch faces five counts of burglary for the ruses that started July 26, according to Aurora police.
Around 8:10 p.m., he persuaded an employee at a fast food restaurant in the 1200 block of North Lake Street to hand over $160 after making a fake telephone call to the owner of the restaurant, claiming the cash was for the owner’s injured wife, police said.
He then attempted a similar ruse at a hotel in the 2400 block of Sullivan Road a few hours later, about 1:00 a.m. on July 27, this time telling an employee that he needed $175 for the manager’s best friend who had been in an accident, police said. The employee didn’t fall for it, though, and Loresch left empty-handed, police said.
Loresch’s third scam was also unsuccessful when he was turned down by a gas station attendant in the 2200 block of West Galena Boulevard about 15 minutes later, police said.
Around 5:40 p.m. Loresch struck out again when he told clerk at a restaurant in the 2900 block of Kirk Road that the restaurant owner wanted him to take $185 from the register for his ailing wife, police said. The clerk is a family member of the owner, and Loresch gave up when the clerk insisted on talking to the owner, police said.
About 20 minutes later, though, Loresch made off with $230 from a clerk at a gas station in the 1300 block of Butterfield Road after saying his sister had been in a car accident and was sent by the owner to receive $230 for a taxi and tow truck, according to police.
Other police departments in the area contacted Aurora detectives after they released a community alert July 29, and investigators used surveillance footage to identify Loresch, police said.
Loresch, of the the 1300 block of Monomoy Street in Aurora, is being held in Cook County on similar charges, police said. He is expected to be served a $125,000 arrest warrant.
