Would-be burglars target Hinsdale shops

Two downtown Hinsdale businesses were the targets of early morning burglaries on Wednesday, according to Hinsdale police.

Video footage and eyewitness testimony indicate that two offenders attempted to enter Wild Ginger, 44 S. Washington St., and the Barber Shop, 20 W. Hinsdale Ave., at just after 5 a.m. yesterday.

Police said the offenders attempted to enter the businesses through rear windows. They broke out the glass in one instance, and crawled through an unsecured window in the other. No property was reported taken from either establishment.

“The witness alerted police officers to the burglaries,” Police Chief Brian King said.

The witness heard glass break at about 5:05 a.m. near the rear of Wild Ginger and saw a black male approximately 5’6” wearing a yellowish hooded sweatshirt and black face mask standing on the rear stairs of the eatery, according to the police report.

Another black male of the same height wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and black face mask was standing in the West Hinsdale Avenue alley as a lookout.

“The offenders were seen fleeing on foot westbound on Hinsdale Avenue,” King said. “Right now we don’t have a vehicle associated with the incident.”

King noted that this is second attempted burglary to Wild Ginger in a week after the screen was forced off of a rear window adjacent to the stairs of a fire escape in the rear of the restaurant on June 29. He advised all establishments to take precautions.

“We advise that people set their alarms and especially secure their windows until the offenders have been identified and arrested,” he said.

— by Ken Knutson