15 June 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chief Weitzel tweitzel@riverside.il.us 708.447.2127 - Follow RPD on Twitter @pdriverside

Riverside Police Arrest Indian Head Park Man for Theft of Concert Tickets
Police charge man with two counts of theft for stealing Spring Awakening concert tickets arranged via Facebook
On Sunday, June 15, 2014 at 1:30 p.m., the Riverside Police Department took a theft report from a victim who stated
that she made arrangements to sell two Spring Awakening concert tickets for $300.00. She had arranged through
Facebook to sell the tickets to an individual who she was to meet at an address on the 100 block of Pine Avenue.
When the purchaser showed up, he had a second suspect in the car. The individual who stated on Facebook that he
would purchase the tickets exited his vehicle and asked for the tickets. The suspect was holding cash in his hand at
the time and when the victim pulled out the tickets, the offender immediately grabbed the tickets out of the victim's
hands, got into the vehicle and fled east from the scene.
The offender who had contacted the victim on Facebook to purchase the tickets actually used his real name on
Facebook. The police were able to track that individual to numerous addresses; however, they were able to track him
to his current address in Indian Head Park. Riverside Police immediately contacted Ticketmaster and had them cancel
the barcode number that was on the concert tickets as the Spring Awakening concert was on Sunday night, the same
night the tickets were stolen.
After identifying the suspect, the police showed the victim a photo array of several offenders and the victim positively
picked out the offender from the photo spread. On Monday, June 16, 2014, with the assistance of the Indian Head
Park Police Department, the suspect was taken into custody and transported back to Riverside Police Department.
Once in police custody, the suspect gave a full written confession admitting to stealing the concert tickets. The tickets
had a retail value of $300.00.
Riverside Police charged James M. Smith, 21 of the 7200 block of South Wolf Road, Indian Head Park with two
counts of misdemeanor theft.
Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel stated, The victim, a 21-year-old female from Mount Prospect, had driven from
Mount Prospect to Riverside to meet this individual on a street corner to exchange cash for concert tickets where the
whole arrangement was made on Facebook. It is certainly not a good practice for individuals to exchange information
over Facebook and then arrange to meet on a public street where one individual is holding cash and the other is
holding the proceeds which were stolen. In this case, the offender actually used his real name. I would suggest you
purchase concert tickets and other items from legitimate individuals and that the exchange not take place on a street
corner in which neither the victim nor the offender live in Riverside. This type of meeting and transaction should raise
numerous red flags.
EWS RELEASE
RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT
31 Riverside Road, Riverside, IL 60546