Tag Archives: Aurora

Aurora house fire displaces 4, causes $25K in damages

(AURORA) A fire at a west suburban Aurora home left four people displaced Sunday night and caused an estimated $25,000 in damages.

A neighbor called 911 shortly after 10 p.m. after seeing flames coming from a rear attic window of the one-story, single-family home in the 600 block of Second Avenue, according to a statement from the Aurora Fire Department. The neighbor went into the home and warned the residents, who were then all able to exit safely.

The blaze was extinguished just more than an hour after firefighters’ arrival, fire officials said. No injuries were reported, but the American Red Cross was called to the scene to help the home’s four residents with housing after the building was deemed uninhabitable.

Damages to the home and its contents were estimated at $25,000. Fire officials said the probable cause of the fire was accidental.

Pedestrian hit, killed by semi after falling from Aurora sidewalk

(AURORA) A 35-year-old man was fatally hit by a semi truck on Monday evening in west suburban Aurora.

The pedestrian fell off a sidewalk and into the path of the northbound truck about 8 p.m. in the 800 block of North Lake Street, according to Aurora city spokesman Dan Ferrelli. He was dead at the scene.

“Alcohol may be involved on the part of the pedestrian,” Ferrelli said in an email.

The road was closed for several hours as authorities investigated the crash.

Wheaton Express DMV Office to Close

By Jennifer Keiper, WLS-AM 890 News

(WHEATON) A west suburban drivers license facility will shutdown next week.

If you ever use the the express driver services facility in Wheaton to renew your license or get a disabled parking placard, you’ll have to find a somewhere else to do it now.

The Secretary of State’s office says the landlord didn’t want to renew the lease.  So, the facility at 128 West Liberty Drive will close at the end of the business day on March 24.

You can use DMV facilities in Lombard, Aurora, and Naperville.

© WLS-AM 890 News, 2016

Ruse burglaries targeting elderly Aurora residents

Surveillance footage of the 2016 Chevrolet Silverado the suspects were driving. | Aurora Police Department

(AURORA) Aurora Police are warning elderly residents about two attempted ruse burglaries in the last month.

The first incident occurred at 3:15 p.m. Sept. 4 in the 1100 block of Pleasant Terrace. The second was at 4:40 p.m. Sept. 15 in the 700 block of North Avenue, according to a statement from police.

In the first incident, a 92-year-old man said he was approached by a 55-year-old man who led him into his back yard telling him that he needed to take some measurements for work he was doing at a business next door, according to police.

The victim said he became suspicious after the suspect couldn’t answer several questions and began to walk back to his house. That’s when he noticed a second suspect, and both drove off in a white pickup.

When the man went back into his house, he noticed several interior rooms showed signs of someone going through them. Nothing was missing, but $200 in damage was done to the doorway of a locker, according to the statement.

Police examined video footage from a neighboring business and discovered there were four white male suspects driving a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado four-door with tinted windows, chrome wheels and a black toolbox in the bed.

On Sept. 15, an 88-year-old man and his 85-year-old wife answered their door to a man who led the woman out to the back yard offering tree trimming services. Two other men then entered the home, one of whom was trying to engage the 88-year-old man in conversation to distract him while the other man went upstairs, according to the statement.

When the man realized he was being burgled, he told the men he was going to call police. Both men then quickly left and all three got into a white pickup similar to the one described in the earlier burglary, according to the statement.

Nothing was taken from the home, the statement said.

Anyone with information should call police at (630) 256-5500 or Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000. Callers to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and qualify for a cash reward of up to $5,000.

Woman hospitalized after Aurora fire

(AURORA) A woman rescued from a fire at a home in west suburban Aurora was hospitalized Wednesday morning.

A resident of the home in the 400 block of Central Avenue discovered the fire about 6:15 a.m., according to a statement from the Aurora fire department.

Firefighters found heavy smoke and fire in front of the home and discovered a woman in her early 60s inside, according to the fire department.

She was taken to Presence Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, according to the fire department. Her condition is not yet known.

The blaze was brought under control about 30 minutes later, at 6:45 a.m., according to the statement. No firefighters were injured.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Aurora man convicted of murder gets 25 more years for attempted murder

(ST. CHARLES) An Aurora man already facing 60 years in prison for murder was sentenced to 25 more years Wednesday after he was found guilty of trying to commit a second murder.

Enrique L. Torres, 31, was convicted of attempted murder in August 2014 in connection with an April 2007 shooting in Aurora, according to a statement from the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.

About 3 a.m. on April 14, 2007, Torres and two others were in a car looking for rival gang members near Summit and Hill avenues. After seeing two people in a car nearby, Torres got out of his vehicle and opened fire, prosecutors said. One person was shot in the left thigh.

Later that day, Torres shot and killed 31-year-old Edgar Hill of Hillside in an Aurora hotel parking lot, prosecutors said. Torres was convicted of murder and sentenced to 60 years in prison in that case.

The two sentences will be served consecutively, prosecutors said.

Roadwork to reduce Route 59 to one lane in Naperville, Aurora

(NAPERVILLE) Roadwork on Illinois Route 59 will require a major traffic pattern shift in the west suburbs starting Wednesday and lasting through September.

The new traffic pattern will be installed on northbound Route 59 in Naperville and Aurora, reducing the road to a single lane between Jefferson Avenue/Liberty Street and North Aurora Road, according to a statement form the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Southbound lanes will remain unchanged, IDOT said.

The work is intended to increase the road’s capacity, reduce the potential for crashes and relieve traffic congestion, according to IDOT. Drivers are advised to allow extra travel time for the duration of the project, which should be finished by the end of September.

Two men charged after shooting, 4-hour standoff in Aurora

       Montgomery police photo

(MONTGOMERY) Two Aurora men have been charged after a west suburban shooting that led to a four-hour standoff with police on Friday.

Kenneth F. Newsome, 19, faces 15 felony charges including attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, according to a statement from Montgomery police.

Edwardo Correa Hernandez, 20, was charged with a felony count of mob action and a misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a knife, police said.

About 2:20 p.m., witnesses saw two people run away from a the scene where a person was shot near Elliott and Melrose avenues in Montgomery, according to police and Aurora city spokesman Dan Ferrelli.

Police tracked the pair about 3:15 p.m. to a home in the 1100 block of Homer Avenue in Aurora, where they closed the curtains and put a mattress in front of the window, authorities said.

The men refused to come out, and police asked residents to stay inside their homes as they responded to the barricade situation, police said. Krug Elementary School, about two blocks away, was put on a hard lockdown as police negotiated, according to the statement.

A woman walked out of the home about 6 p.m., and a man exited about 6:35 p.m. The last man walked out of the home and was arrested “without incident” about 7:20 p.m., officials said.

The person hurt in the shooting suffered injuries that weren’t thought to be life-threatening, police said.

Newsome and Hernandez, who both live on the block where they allegedly barricaded themselves, were scheduled to appear in Kane County bond court on Monday.

  

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC

$650K Lucky Day Lotto ticket sold in Aurora

(AURORA) A west suburban store sold a winning ticket for Wednesday evening’s Lucky Day Lotto drawing worth $650,000, but the winner has yet to come forward.

The ticket was sold at New Tobacco Hut at 3015 E. New York St. in Aurora, and matched all five numbers: 8-10-11-29-39, according to the Illinois Lottery.

The retailer will receive a bonus of $6,500, or 1 percent of the prize amount, for selling the winning ticket.

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC

Tumbling coach charged with sexual abuse of underage prostitute

(JOLIET)  A former west suburban tumbling coach is behind bars Tuesday after being charged with having sexual contact with an underage prostitute.

A Will County arrest warrant issued Friday charges Ray Saleh, 51, with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, patronizing a minor engaged in prostitution, and patronizing a prostitute, according to the Will County state’s attorney’s office.

Saleh was arrested about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to Naperville police.

The warrant carries a $500,000 bond and Saleh was being held in the Will County Adult Detention Facility. He is scheduled to appear in bond court at 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to prosecutors.

The victim, identified only as A.S., was older than 13 but younger than 17, when Saleh committed sexual acts with her, according to court documents.

Naperville police began investigating the case in September, according to Sgt. William Davis, a department spokesman.

Saleh, of Oswego, was a tumbling coach at ICE All-Star Cheer in Aurora. A spokeswoman for the company said Tuesday that he has been fired.

© Copyright 2014 Sun-Times Media, LLC