2018's odd crimes and imperfect criminals in the suburbs

They say there's no such thing as a perfect crime.

This year, we saw plenty of accused criminals who seemed determined to prove that adage true. From the bank robbery suspect who revealed his presence by texting a police officer after the heist to the juvenile vandals who left cops a trail of blood leading to their hideout, 2018 was a year in which some would-be criminal masterminds made things easy for those on the thin blue line.

The year also brought us a foiled murder plot involving monkey masks, day-care workers accused of taking the easy way out at nap time, a speeding driver who found the exact wrong place to crash and, somehow, another instance of grown-up reading material being scattered along the Prairie Path in DuPage County.

Here's our annual review of the strange cases, odd crimes and not-so-clever criminals that caught our attention this year:

• Nap time can be a challenge when a toddler has no interest in catching some Zs. Police say a trio of Des Plaines day-care workers came up with an unusual - and unlawful - way around that: feeding restless 2-year-olds gummies made with sleep-inducing melatonin.

Each of the teachers was arrested in March on charges of endangering the life or health of a child and battery, after investigators were tipped off by a fellow teacher concerned about her co-workers' methods. Fortunately, police say, none of the children suffered any harmful effects from the sleep aids.

• According to the FBI, Dexter Riley made two big scores in late September - first, he won the lottery, then a day later he successfully pulled off a bank heist that netted him more than $8,000. It was the former that led to his capture in the latter.

When the 38-year-old from Arlington Heights robbed a Palatine bank Sept, 28, court documents say, he accidentally left behind some scratch-off lottery tickets. The FBI tracked the tickets to a Deer Park gas station, where winners from the same lot of tickets were cashed in. Surveillance video from the station showed the suspect collecting on the winners then leaving in a car that the FBI traced to Riley, leading to his arrest.

• Riley wasn't the only bank robbery suspect whose own gaffe led to his undoing. In January, according to the FBI, Rajko Bozic of Grayslake robbed a Lake Forest bank, then stuck around long enough to spot a police officer friend responding to the scene. So, naturally, he sent his pal a text. "Let's catch up soon grab a beer," Bozic wrote, according to court documents.

Now that text - specifically the cell tower ping it created - is among the evidence federal prosecutors used this fall to charge Bozic, saying it proved he was in the area at the time of the stickup.

• We're not fans of rush-hour traffic after a long day at the office, so we understand the frustration Jose Lopez- Inclan might have been feeling as he tried to hurry home from work Sept. 7 to spend time with his kids. But that's no excuse for what police say the Carpentersville man did that day to beat the rush - he pretended to be a cop.

Police say Lopez-Inclan stuck a flashing light on his SUV to get other drivers to move over for him as he drove through Elgin. Unfortunately for him, a fellow commuter called 911 and a real cop arrested him on a felony charge of impersonating a police officer.

• Tequila has been the undoing of many, but Gary E. Reiher this year found a new way to be brought down by the booze. According to police in Lake County, the 33-year-old Marengo man had been a fugitive for several days in late September, narrowly dodging arrest several times, until he got a thirst for the Mexican liquor. Lacking the money - or willingness - to pay for it, police say he instead grabbed several bottles of Patron from a Round Lake Park liquor store and made a dash for it. The store alerted police and he was captured not long after.

• What started as a run-of-the-mill traffic stop near Antioch ended with three Wisconsin men behind bars and law enforcement with a cache of weapons, ammo, drugs, duct tape and three monkey masks. Police say it was all part of a plot to exact violent, and likely fatal, revenge for a previous altercation.

• A pair of youngsters - ages 11 and 13 - broke into South Elgin's Fox River Trolley Museum in July and broke windows and lights on several trolleys, leaving behind some $100,000 in damage, according to police.

But that's not all they left behind. Police say one of the young vandals was cut during the spree, leaving a trail of blood. Police followed it to one of the kids' homes and nabbed the pair on charges of burglary and criminal damage to property.

• Unless you're a race car driver or on the Autobahn, speeding along at more than 100 mph is never a good idea. Doing it past a police station? Even worse.

That's what police say happened when an Arlington Heights man zipped past the village's new police station at 104 mph, lost control and crashed into the $28 million facility. Driver Sam O. Kerlin survived the scary Nov. 11 crash, but is facing a slew of charges, including driving under the influence of drugs, improper lane usage, reckless driving and driving more than 35 mph over the speed limit.

• What is it about the Prairie Path in DuPage County that attracts those with the need to share their interest in adult entertainment? Last year it was William Winnie of Naperville, who in May pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for leaving pornography and women's underwear along the path on several occasions in 2017.

Then in June, authorities arrested John Holland of Chicago on charges of obscenity, disorderly conduct and littering, alleging he displayed pornographic photos and materials along the path.

We can't wait to see what 2019 brings.

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