A Chicago suburb pizza joint is dishing out an unusual offer: score free pizza for a year if you can help nab some failed burglars. Sopranos Pizza & Catering, located at 1527 S. State St. in Lockport, turned to the community for assistance after suspects tried to break into their establishment this past Tuesday at around 3:30 a.m. The owners shared CCTV footage on their Facebook page, showing a would-be thief and accomplices—in a silver sedan outside the pizzeria—trying to force entry, one swinging what looked to be a large rock or chunk of concrete, and another donning a black Nike hoodie and a masked face, handing off a bigger brick.
The break-in attempt, which concluded with the suspects fleeing, was captured on a local's dashcam which the proprietors referred to as "Rocky," a "local legend from Lockport," who recorded the "mozzarella-brained bandits" as they made their hurried escape; Sopranos Pizzeria mentions in a post that the car them, a silver one, might be stolen, as its plates seemed to indicate, and they took off like "scared little meatballs" when the business alarm sounded, according to a restaurant social media post—this detail was highlighted by NBC Chicago.
In a bid to bring the culprits to justice—and to spice up their plea for public help—the pizzeria announced a reward that seems as savory as their pies: identify the suspects, and enjoy a whole year's worth of free pizza. "Help us ID these crumb bums, and you'll be eating on the house for a whole year," Sopranos Pizzeria said, promising 52 weeks of cheesy delights with no strings attached.
The Lockport police are currently investigating the incident and looking into whether these events are connected to a pattern of recent smash-and-grabs in the surrounding areas such as Frankfort, Mokena, Tinley Park, and New Lenox; suspicions of a broader criminal trend are considered, however much it might ease the mind to think it an isolated incident, the officers seek to piece together these scattered threads of nocturnal crimes in these quiet neighborhoods. Anyone with information is encouraged to come forward.
