Tower Lakes Police Department

02/10/2023

The sheriff’s office is warning Lake County residents about an increase in vehicle thefts and burglaries to vehicles in the northeastern Illinois area.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued the warning on social media Wednesday.

Most of the thefts occur during the overnight hours. Thieves move up and down streets pulling on door handles.

12/07/2022

There have been several reports made of possible attempted burglaries to vehicles on Marion Court in Tower Lakes. Suspects gain entry to the residence by obtaining the garage remote from vehicles parked outside of the garage in the driveway. A purse was taken from one of the vehicles. Nothing else was taken.
We ask that residents of Tower Lakes do their Due Diligence by locking their vehicles and not leaving anything of value in plain sight. Please be observant and report any suspicious persons or vehicles in the area to the Police.

11/24/2022

11/11/2022

Thank You

07/08/2022

FI****MS RESTRAINING ORDER
EMPOWERING LAW ENFORCEMENT AND
FAMILIES TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE
WHAT IS A FI****MS RESTRAINING ORDER? On January 1, 2019, the Fi****ms Restraining
Order Act (430 ILCS 67/1) went into effect in Illinois. The Fi****ms Restraining Order Act provides a formal legal process to ask a court to issue a Fi****ms Restraining Order (or “FRO”) to temporarily limit
an individual’s access to fi****ms, ammunition, and firearm parts when that person poses a significant danger to themselves or others. A Fi****ms Restraining Order is a civil court order that temporarily prohibits a person from possessing or buying fi****ms, ammunition, and firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm.
WHEN IS FI****MS RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED? The purpose of the Fi****ms
Restraining Order Act is to prevent individuals who pose an elevated risk of endangering themselves or others from accessing fi****ms, ammunition, and firearm parts before they harm themselves or others. Before many shootings, family members of the shooter have observed dangerous behaviors or have
grown concerned about their risk of harming themselves or others. Family and household members are often the first to know when someone is in crisis or poses a harm. In addition, law enforcement officers frequently come in contact with individuals who are dangerous or in crisis. The Fi****ms Restraining Order Act allows a family or household member and law menforcement officers to ask a court to restrict a person’s access to fi****ms, ammunition, and firearm parts to prevent the commission of gun violence.
HOW LONG DOES A FI****MS RESTRAINING ORDER LAST? There are two types of FROs:
an emergency FRO that immediately addresses a crisis and lasts up to 14 days, and a six-month FRO that provides longer protection but only after there has been a full court hearing. HOW DOES A FI****MS RESTRAINING ORDER WORK? A family member including an ex-spouse and a person with a child in common with the respondent) or household member or law enforcement can petition an Illinois circuit court for an order to temporarily limit the access to fi****ms, ammunition and fi****ms parts of a named “respondent”—the individual who poses a danger of injury.
Based on the evidence in the petition, a judge may issue an emergency FRO immediately that will be in place for 14 days. The judge then will hold a full hearing to decide whether to end the emergency FRO or whether to issue a longer, six-month FRO. A petition for a firearm restraining order may be filed in any county where the respondent resides or any county where an incident occurred that involved the respondent posing an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to the respondent or another by having in his or her custody or control or purchasing, possessing or receiving a firearm, ammunition, or firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm. There are two stages in the process for obtaining an FRO: Stage 1: Law Enforcement or family/household member fills out a petition explaining how the respondent’s access to fi****ms poses an immediate and present danger of causing injury to themselves
or others. The petition may be filed in any county where the respondent lives or in any county where an incident occurred that involved the respondent posing an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury by having in his or her custody or control, or purchasing, possessing, or receiving, a firearm, Ammunition, or firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm. Generally the petitioner does not have to notify the respondent yet, but the petitioner must make an effort to notify
an intimate partner of the respondent if they are a target of the respondent.

An emergency hearing is held the next day court is in session. The judge issues an emergency FRO if they find probable cause to believe the respondent poses an immediate and present danger of causing injury. If an emergency FRO is issued, a full hearing is scheduled as soon as possible so the respondent can be heard, and the full hearing must be held within 14 days. During the short period of time before a full hearing can be held, the emergency FRO ensures that the respondent is prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm ammunition, or firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm.
Stage 2: At the full hearing, the judge considers whether to end the emergency FRO or whether to extend it to a six-month FRO. At the hearing, the burden is on the petitioner to show “by clear and
convincing evidence” that the respondent creates “a significant danger” of injury to themselves or others by having access to fi****ms. Petitioners are required to present evidence to the court, and respondents also have an opportunity to present evidence. If the court decides the respondent presents a significant
danger, the court will issue an order prohibiting the respondent from the purchase and possession of fi****ms ammunition, or firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm for six months. Note that family, household members, or law enforcement can choose to skip the emergency FRO process and petition directly for a six-month FRO. Further, a petitioner who obtains a 14-day FRO is not required to proceed with the six-month FRO process if the danger is no longer present.
WHAT KINDS OF EVIDENCE DOES THE COURT NEED?
The petitioner and respondent can present any evidence they think will be relevant to the court’s decision. Examples of evidence that may help the court make a decision include, but are not limited to, facts about the respondent’s: (1) unlawful or reckless use of fi****ms; (2) history of physical force; (3) prior felony arrests; (4) abuse of controlled substances or alcohol; (5) recent threats or acts of violence; (6) violations of domestic violence protection orders; or (7) pattern of violence.
CAN FROs BE TERMINATED? Yes.
The respondent is allowed one opportunity to ask the court to
terminate the FRO before it expires (either before the 14-day or six-month period). In order to have the court end the FRO, the respondent must prove to the court by a “preponderance of the evidence” that he or she does not pose a danger.
CAN FROs BE EXTENDED? Yes. A court can renew a FRO. A petitioner may file a written request for an extension of an FRO during the final three months before the order is scheduled to expire. Before the judge will extend an FRO, the court will hold another full hearing where the petitioner again must prove by “clear and convincing evidence” that the respondent continues to pose a danger. For more information or for trainings please email Assistant Attorney General Cordelia Coppleson at [email protected]

please visit

www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov

Chicago
1-800-386-5438
TTY: 1-800-964-3013

Springfield
1-800-243-0618
TTY: 1-877-844-5461

Carbondale
1-800-243-0607

Access to Illinois Attorney General Services and Information

06/14/2022

Authorities are warning that scammers have recently been targeting Lake County residents by claiming to be with the sheriff’s office and telling callers they have a warrant.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and 19th Judicial Circuit Court said in a joint statement Wednesday that the scam involves con artists calling residents and introducing themselves as a member of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

The scammers use an actual name of a sheriff’s office employee.

The scammer informs the victim that they missed a jury summons and an arrest warrant, a citation, or citations, have been issued to them.

The scammer then attempts to instruct the victim how to purchase a “voucher” in order to avoid arrest.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said that neither the sheriff’s office nor the 19th Judicial Circuit Court would ever call a resident to request money.

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Lake County Government will not ask for or accept payment in the form of gift cards, Green Dot cards, Venmo or cryptocurrency.

Covelli said most of the time the scammers are operating out of other states or countries.

“The best course of action is to hang up and if utilizing a cellphone, block the caller’s telephone number from being able to contact you again. You may also file a report with your local law enforcement agency,” Covelli said.

Anyone ever doubtful of a government official contacting them by phone can always hang up and call back utilizing the known telephone number for the government office which contacted them.

Residents should never provide personal information if they did not initiate a phone conversation.

Anyone who believes they have been scammed should file a report with their local law enforcement agency.

05/30/2022

GOD Bless and thank you for your Service

05/17/2022

The sheriff’s office is warning residents in Lake County about an elaborate online scam that caused one Lake County resident to send $20,000 in cash to a scammer.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post on Saturday that the resident recently made a report with a sheriff’s deputy that they had been scammed into sending $20,000 cash to an individual posing as a PayPal employee.

The victim, the deputy and the UPS shipping store worked together to ultimately recover the package, which police said was unusual to be able to recover the funds. “Most of the time the victim’s money is not recovered.”

The sheriff’s office explained that the scam involves the person receiving an email, text message or phone call indicating an account of theirs, such as a bank account, PayPal account or other money account, has been used to make a purchase.

The message says to contact a certain phone number if the purchase is unauthorized.

The scammer then engages the victim in additional dialogue and assures them they will help you fix your “hacked” computer and get a refund, the sheriff’s office said.

The scammer has the victim download a program, which is really a remote desktop – a way for them to access a person’s files, passwords and bank accounts.

The scammer distracts them by presenting a form on their computer to type your refund amount into. Meanwhile, the scammer is accessing your bank accounts.

While logged into various accounts, the scammer transfers money from one of the victim’s accounts to another account, usually a significant amount.

The scammer then tells you to type your refund amount into their fake form, at which time they manipulate the amount the person types and then accuse them of inputting the wrong amount.

They tell the victim to open their checking account to see if their balance reflects the wrong refund, which it will because they have already transferred that money from one of their other accounts.

In some situations, the scammer simply manipulates the website code to display a higher bank account balance than the victim actually has, the sheriff’s office said.

The scammer then accuses the victim of stealing money from them and plays on their emotions to make them think they will be fired and their children will suffer because of the victim’s typing “mistake.”

The scammer then convinces the victim to repay the money by utilizing a Crypto Currency ATM or withdrawing cash to mail them.

The sheriff’s office said it is not simple to recover money mailed to a scammer.

“The scammers generally have the money mailed to an unoccupied residence that they have no ties to. They sit in their car (usually a rental car, or a car with stolen license plates) all day, waiting for the delivery driver to arrive,” authorities said.

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Once the driver arrives, they grab the package and drive off with thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Once the victim has discovered they have been scammed, it is almost always too late for authorities to be able to retrieve the stolen money.

The sheriff’s office said people should never trust an unsolicited telephone call, text message or email, and always be suspicious of links and phone numbers they receive.

People who think they have been scammed should file a police report immediately.

“Scammers are good at what they do, they prey on people’s emotions and vulnerabilities, especially those who are not proficient utilizing the internet,” authorities said.