A 22-year-old Tinley Park man unable to resist playing a practical joke has been charged with disorderly conduct after triggering a brief four-squad Orland Park police search for his 20-year-old cousin’s “stolen” sport utility vehicle.
The incident began when the Tinley Park man, driving on the 15100 block of LaGrange Road, spotted his cousin parking the SUV and entering a store, according to an Orland Park police report released Nov. 13.
The Tinley Park man, noticing the 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe was unlocked and running, with the key in the ignition, entered the vehicle and began to drive it away after catching his cousin’s attention.
The 20-year-old, unaware of the driver’s identity, chased his SUV around the store building — twice — and then called 911, according to the Oct. 27 police report.
The 20-year-old called police again a few minutes later to report his vehicle had been returned by the driver, who he now recognized as his cousin.
The 20-year-old assured police he honestly believed his car was being stolen when he called 911 and acknowledged he hadn’t given his cousin permission to take the vehicle. But he declined to participate in a felony theft charge against the Tinley Park man because “he and his cousin play pranks on each other all the time,” the report said.
In addition to being charged with the local ordinance violation, the Tinley Park man was lectured by police on the danger to police and other motorists his stunt could have caused.
Four squads initially responded to what was believed to be a car theft in progress, according to the report.