Police beat

Crystal Lake

• The Crystal Lake police and fire/rescue departments located a homemade explosive device in the roadway of the 1100 block of Windridge Drive at 5:01 p.m. Wednesday. The two-liter plastic bottle was filled with household chemicals and materials, according to the police and fire departments. Two juveniles, ages 12 and 13, were arrested on charges of reckless conduct for constructing the device, and it was detonated at 6:17 p.m. Wednesday. No one was injured. Residents in five homes in the area were ordered to evacuate for about an hour Wednesday evening until the device was detonated.

Elgin

• Police received a call at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday about a person stealing copper wire from the train signal system at South Gifford Street and the Metra tracks. They found a man riding a bicycle on the 0-100 block of South Liberty Street with 36 feet of wire wrapped around his torso, a report said. Curtis Ford Wells, 46, homeless, was charged with felony theft and misdemeanor criminal trespass to land, according to a report. He was unable to post a $1,500 bond and was taken to the Kane County jail Thursday. He is scheduled to appear on April 17 at the Kane County Judicial Center.

• Two watches, 24 CDs, a video game console, two PlayStation 2 games, a gold bracelet, a necklace and a bottle of alcohol were stolen between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Wednesday from an apartment on the 1000 block of Ash Drive.

South Elgin

• Police said two men took a pit bull to the Anderson Animal Shelter on Jan. 18 and when they couldn't make a donation because they had no money on them, they were told the shelter couldn't accept the dog. The two men then went to South Elgin Food & Liquor, where an employee told them to tie the dog outside and he would call the police to report that the dog had been abandoned. After nearly three months of investigation, Yousef Kattoum, 24, was charged with filing a false police report, police said. Kenneth Cunningham, 24, and Daniel A. Irizarry, 24, both of 1114 Sebring Drive, Elgin, were each charged with cruelty to an animal. Kattoum's bond has yet to be set on the charge. Cunningham and Irizarry were issued notices to appear in Elgin Branch Court. South Elgin police said it costs the village about $310 every time a police officer is assigned to an abandoned animal case. Instead, the South Elgin Police Department urges those who want to give up their animals to call the new Kane County Animal Shelter or contact a no-kill shelter listed in the phone book.

Kane County

• An all terrain vehicle and two dirt bikes valued at $1,750 total were stolen Tuesday or Wednesday from a yard at 19N023 Woodview Pkwy., Hampshire Township.

• A Sony PlayStation 3 and three rings, valued at $20,900 total, were stolen Monday or Tuesday during a burglary at 37W081 Winhaven Drive, Elgin Township.