(The following report appeared at CBS2Chicago.com on December 27.)
ORLAND PARK, Ill. — Armed with a sledgehammer and gas-powered saw, a father-son burglary team smashed through a wall at an Orland Park Metra station, police said Wednesday.
But the pair’s plan to open the office safe was foiled by an alert officer with a keen sense of smell, according to police.
Orland Park police arrested Mark Anderson, 40, and his 17-year-old son Kyle Anderson late Sunday night at the SouthWest Service train station at 10401 W. 153rd St. in the southwest suburb.
Authorities said the father and son went into the station and used a sledgehammer to rip a hole through the bathroom wall to gain access to the adjacent cashier’s office.
Once inside, the pair used the gas-powered concrete saw to attempt to break into the office safe, Orland Park police Sgt. John Keating said.
The station’s interior is unlocked and unstaffed during late-night hours to allow residents to use the bathroom facilities, Keating said.
An Orland Park officer doing a routine building check smelled the exhaust from the saw, he said.
After being ordered to come out, the Andersons unlocked the office door and were arrested without incident, Keating said.
The Andersons, of the 5800 block of 88th Place in Oak Lawn, were each charged with burglary, possession of burglary tools and criminal damage to state-supported property.
Keating was unsure how much, if any, cash was inside the safe.
Cook County Judge Denise Kathleen Filan set bond for Mark Anderson at $30,000 and for Kyle Anderson at $20,000 during a Christmas Eve bond hearing at the Bridgeview courthouse, Cook County State’s Attorney’s office spokesman Andy Conklin said.
Both are scheduled for a Jan. 9 preliminary hearing.