CHICAGO — A man stole a bunch of items from a West Town Mariano's and then tried to make his escape across nearby rooftops, police and a witness said.
At 9:09 a.m. Tuesday, the man walked into a store in the 2000 block of West Chicago Avenue, took several items and then tried to leave without paying, police said. A security guard tried to stop the man and he ran away.
About 9:30 a.m. Monday, Arielle Acevedo was sleeping at her home near Western Avenue and Iowa Street when she woke up to about 30 officers surrounding the house and "commotion" on the roof, Acevedo said.
Acevedo thought her home was collapsing, she said, but she soon realized officers were trying to get a man off her roof.
"Come on ... you're surrounded," the officers called up to the man, Acevedo said.
The man eventually came down, and Acevedo spoke to officers who said the man had been involved in the theft from the nearby Mariano's.
The man was "hopping roofs" while trying to get away from officers after the theft, Acevedo said, and he jumped across several roofs before being caught on Acevedo's. It appears he used a patio chair to get onto a small portion of the roof before climbing to the larger part of the roof.
"I've never seen anything like that," Acevedo said. "That was wild."
The man was taken into custody, police said, and charges were pending.
