When a 70-year-old Galesburg man went to leave his residence on Sunday morning, he couldn’t, because a stolen SUV parked in his driveway was blocking him in. Galesburg Police responded to the 1100 block of Greenleaf Street in reference to the suspicious vehicle. Police viewed the man’s security video which showed the SUV being parked in the driveway around 11:45 the night before, but a suspect couldn’t be seen. The SUV is registered to a 32-year-old Galesburg woman who told police the vehicle was stolen from a parking lot in the 1500 block of McKnight Street. The woman said she returned home around 11:00 the night before and left the SUV unlocked with the keys in the center console. At the time of the theft, there wasn’t anything of value inside the SUV, and the keys were left with the SUV in the man’s driveway. At the time of the police report, officers were still awaiting security video from the Knox County Housing Authority. The investigation is ongoing.
Shortly after 6:00 am on Sunday, Galesburg Police responded to the 1500 block of W. Water Street for a report of attempted vehicle theft. A 32-year-old Galesburg man said he started his 2011 Ford truck to let it warm up, and when he came back outside minutes later, the truck had backed into his wife’s Dodge SUV. The man said he ran towards his truck, and as he did, an unknown subject in dark clothing got out of the truck and ran off in an unknown direction. The man said he did not chase after the suspect. The Ford truck sustained damage to the passenger door and the front bumper of the Dodge SUV sustained damage as well. The police don’t have any suspects at the time of the police report. The incident happened during a slew of recent vehicle burglaries. WGIL reported that the Galesburg Police Department responded to seven vehicle burglary reports on Sunday as well.
