Wheaton cops: We dropped the ball on follow-up robocall

Wheaton police say they erred Sunday night by failing to request a follow-up robocall to alert residents to the capture of four suspects accused of attempting to break into a home.

Some residents received an automated message sent through the DuPage County sheriff's office Reverse 911 program alerting them to a potential threat after the suspects abandoned their getaway van on the 800 block of North West Street and ran away, police said.

A police dog from Elmhurst eventually helped track the suspects - a Chicago man and three juveniles - to a backyard shed a few blocks away. All four were taken into custody without incident, police said.

But "in the midst of arresting these guys and doing a lot of different things" police forgot to ask the sheriff's office to send a follow-up robocall to homeowners who received the original recording, Deputy Chief Bill Murphy said Monday.

"We dropped the ball on that," Murphy said.

When police realized the error, it was too late into the evening to alert residents.

"They just didn't complete the process to let everybody know that we captured the people," Murphy said.

Police will review the matter internally, Murphy said, as part of a debriefing.

A DuPage County Sheriff's office spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about the automated alert system.