A $10,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the man who entered a Winnetka home last week and attacked a worker there. The Winnetka Police Department announced Tuesday that someone who wishes to remain anonymous is donating the money for the reward.
The police are looking for a man who attacked a household worker in a house on the 1100 block of Sheridan Road in northeastern Winnetka at 11:25 a.m. May 18.
Winnetka officials said two people were home when the intruder entered, apparently intending to burglarize the home. The domestic worker “fought off” the intruder, in the process, scratching his face and biting his gloved hand, Glencoe Police Chief Michael Volling said. A grandmother in the home then called 911, Winnetka officials said.
The man fled on foot and was gone when the police arrived. The employee suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the police reported. She was taken to a hospital where she was treated and released.
The police have released a sketch of the suspect.
He is described as a white male with a “dark complexion,” about 6–feet tall with a slim build. The intruder, who appeared to be between 25 and 35 years old, was wearing a light gray long-sleeved shirt with a hood. He reportedly spoke with an accent, that may have been Serbian or Bosnian, police officials stated.
The Winnetka Police Department implemented its “Code Red” telephone alert system shortly after responding to the attack.
Irvina Warren was one resident who very much appreciated receiving the call.
“I thought it was wonderful,” Warren said. “I felt the police were watching out for me.”
Warren, who lives in the vicinity of the crime, said the automated message warned residents a man had tried to rob a home in the area of Sheridan and Scott Avenue. The call advised residents to be on the lookout for a man with “blood on his face and a bloody finger.”
The message, which Warren received between 12:15 p.m. and 1 p.m. May 18, did not say anyone had been attacked, Warren said. But it included a detailed description of the offender.
The warning was sent to about 1,500 households in Winnetka and Glencoe, as the crime occurred near the Glencoe border, Winnetka’s Acting Police Chief Patrick Kreis said.
Warren said the call did not alarm her. Rather, she said, “I thought they were protecting me ...I felt the police were watching out for the neighbors.“
Neighboring police departments helped the Winnetka police force search the area for the intruder, but did not find him.
Winnetka Village Manager Robert Bahan said authorities suspect the offender had entered the house to burglarize it.
“There were certain items in the home that were targeted,” Bahan said.
But police authorities believe the intruder on Sheridan Road is not the same person responsible for several daytime burglaries that occurred elsewhere in Winnetka between April 19-28, Bahan said.
Three people were identified as possible suspects for those crimes, and one was brought in for questioning, Bahan said.
Anyone with information about any of these crimes is asked to contact the Winnetka Police Department at (847) 501-6034.
