This week Crime Stoppers is seeking information to assist the Springfield Police Department in reference to a retail theft.  On March 30th, 2024, officers were dispatched to Discount Tobacco, 1169 N 2^nd St, in reference to a retail theft. The suspect, who was a black male wearing black sweatpants and an olive colored hooded shirt entered the store and asked an employee to see an item for sale.  When the employee turned around, he jumped over the counter grabbing cartons of cigarettes and fled the area. Images of him can be found on this website, cashfortips.us. If you have any information regarding this incident or can identify the individual, call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 217-788-8427, submit a tip on this website, or use the P3 app. If your tip results in an arrest you could receive a cash reward up to $2500.  Remember Crime Stoppers only wants your information, not your name.

This week's Crime of the Week involves a strong armed robbery which occurred at the Head West Sandwich Shop on Toronto Road in Springfield on September 1st. The victim reported that he was making preparations to open the business at approximately 9:30 am when he was battered at the rear of the business by an unknown person. The six foot tall perpetrator was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood concealing his entire face. He left the area eastbound on foot.

An Armed Robbery to a person occurred at Spring and Cook Street outside of a convenience store on August 25th at 11 pm and police are hoping you can help identify the perpetrators. On that evening a customer was leaving the store when he was struck in the head and face with a handgun by a subject who was waiting in the lot. The suspect, a black male in his mid to late 20’s, fired one shot which grazed the victim. The suspect left with two other black males in a sky blue Dodge Journey. The incident was captured on surveillance video and can be seen by clicking "Read More".

Crime Stoppers is looking for tips about a shooting incident which occurred during the early morning hours of July 9th on Forest Avenue in Springfield. Sangamon County Sheriff detectives are investigating the shooting in which a person, who was sleeping in a mobile home, was shot by the occupant of a vehicle that drove through the mobile home park. The victim, who was not believed to have been targeted, died several days after being struck by the random shot. Detectives are analyzing security video from the area but need your tips to help solve this random act of violence.

Police in Springfield are looking for information about a hit and run traffic incident in which a female pedestrian was struck by a vehicle as she and another female were crossing the street in the crosswalk at 11th and South Grand Ave. The incident occurred on July 23rd at 12:45 am. Witnesses reported that the suspect vehicle was a newer model white Ford Mustang with black stripes along the top of the hood and trunk and the vehicle had an orange or yellow registration plate. The victim was hospitalized and is now recovering from her injuries.

As summer continues to bring hot and muggy conditions in the daytime in Central Illinois, thieves are busy engaging in a crime of opportunity in the overnight hours. While decent people who work for what they own are sleeping, and the cars they purchased through that hard work are parked in their driveways, the few who lack the common sense to know right from wrong are busy stealing from parked cars. Springfield Police have taken numerous reports at Southside and Westside neighborhoods of items being stolen in these burglaries to vehicles. A majority of the vehicles which were burglarized were left unlocked with property inside which was then stolen. Avoid being victimized, never leave anything of any value in a car overnight.

Crime Stoppers is looking for information about an armed robbery which occurred just after midnight on August 3 at the Qik-n-Ez on Toronto Road in Springfield. In the robbery, a masked subject entered the business and fired a gunshot near the front entrance. He then approached the front counter area and took the contents of a cash register. After grabbing the money, he left southbound on foot. No one was injured by the single shot which was fired in the business. The suspect was described as a male, approximately 5'8" tall with a medium build who was wearing all black.

Crime Stoppers is looking for information to help police solve an attempted bank robbery which occurred at the U S Bank at the 2723 South 6th Street in Springfield in the early afternoon of July 25th. The suspect presented a note to the teller demanding money however, he left without receiving anything. He left the bank on foot and was last seen heading west towards 4th Street. He was described as a black male approximately 20 years of age who stood approximately 5’10” and was wearing a black Nike hooded sweatshirt with a large white swoosh on the front and gray and white urban style camouflage pants. You can see bank surveillance photos of the suspect on our website cashfortips.us where you can also leave your anonymous tips.

Springfield, like most other cities in world, found dozens of people collecting virtual Poke Balls in the Pokémon Go game last week and, like many other areas, there was an incident which required police involvement. On July 13 between 9 and 10 in the evening a female was playing the game near 7th and Jackson when she was approached by a black female who had braided hair pulled up into a ponytail. The victim was then tackled by black male who beat her, stomped on her back, and took her blue Samsung cell phone. The victim was treated at the hospital for injuries. Please, always be aware of your surroundings and alert to persons in the area.

This week Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information about a robbery which occurred in the parking lot of Mr. Gyro’s restaurant which is located on Martin Luther King Drive in Springfield. After a couple had made their order inside the restaurant at approximately 8 pm on July 9, the male victim returned to his car to wait for his food. As he approached his vehicle, however, he was attacked by three black males who were in their early 20’s. Two of the suspects were wearing white t-shirts and the third had a blue t-shirt on. All three suspects were slightly injured as the victim defended himself.

Crime Stoppers is looking for information which might help in the investigation of two separate thefts of heavy equipment in the area. The first theft was of a red Kubota tractor which was on a trailer at a storage area on Route 4 in Chatham late on June 8th. The second theft, about a week later, was of a Toro Dingo excavator stolen from Buckley’s Landscaping on Chatham Road late at night on June 16th. Each of these stolen pieces of equipment is valued at approximately $20,000. We’ve posted photos of the stolen Kubota on our website. Do you have any information which detectives can use in their investigations of these felony thefts?