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Chicago man busted for stealing from railcars on South Side: officials

By Will Hager
Published  May 6, 2026 7:13am CDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 32 Chicago
article

Harold Cruz (Cook County Sheriff's Office.)

The Brief

    • A Chicago man was charged after allegedly stealing storage bins from railcars near the Skyway.
    • Authorities say a drone captured him loading boxes into a vehicle with a teen inside.
    • Police recovered stolen items and tools, and the suspect now faces felony charges.

CHICAGO - A man is facing felony charges after officials said he was caught stealing merchandise from railcars last week near the Chicago Skyway.

The backstory:

Norfolk Southern Railroad police reported a security alarm on railroad property near 86th Street around 1:30 a.m. on May 1. 

A Cook County Sheriff's Office drone captured video of a sedan parked nearby with an "emergency lighting device" and a person in reflective clothing removing boxes from the area of the tracks and loading them into the vehicle.

Officers found the car and arrested a man identified as 35-year-old Harold Cruz. Inside the sedan, officials said they found a teenage boy in the front passenger seat holding a box, along with numerous boxes of Sterilite plastic storage bins that were later determined to match cargo taken from two railcars.

Investigators also recovered bolt cutters and a flashlight from the vehicle.

Cruz was charged with felony burglary and theft along with misdemeanor counts of trespassing and unauthorized use of emergency lights. The teen was released to his family without charges.

Cruz was released from custody after a May 2 court appearance.

The Source: The information in this report came from the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

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