Forest Park police officers and minor agents (under the age of 18) conducted a 43-store tobacco sale sting operation last month, citing Wal-Mart, on the 1300 block of Desplaines Avenue, after one of their employees sold tobacco to a minor.

The charge carries a maximum fine of $200.

The operation was conducted in compliance with the Illinois Liquor Control Commission grant that the Forest Park Police Department receives each year aimed at reducing smoking among minors.

Of the 43 retailers inspected, only the Wal-Mart was cited, producing the lowest number of violations in the last three years since the program began in Forest Park.

The Forest Park police will conduct one more tobacco sale sting operation sometime during the next three months.

Retail theft

• Veronica S. Jones, 34, of the 5000 block of West Fulton Street in Chicago, was charged with retail theft after she allegedly took $284.88 worth of merchandise from the Osco on the 7200 block of West Circle Avenue.

Jones allegedly walked into the store on Feb. 25 at 12:50 p.m., took out a white, plastic bag and filled it with baby formula, then left the store without paying.

She allegedly boarded a 1995 green Chevrolet Lumina van, driven by Clyde D. Seller, 48, of the 2200 block of East 68th Street in Chicago, and headed southbound on Harlem Avenue.

Police pulled the couple over on Harlem Avenue at I-290.

Sellers was arrested for driving without proof of insurance and with a suspended license.

• Nakia Dickerson, 22, of the 900 block of North Pine Avenue in Chicago was charged with retail theft in an alleged scheme that involved two Compaq computers at the Wal-Mart on the 1300 block of Desplaines Avenue.

Wal-Mart agents and a Forest Park police officer allegedly observed Dickerson and her boyfriend enter the store on Feb. 24 at
approximately 9 p.m., select a Compaq Desktop PC, valued at $494, and place it into a shopping cart. Dickerson then allegedly placed another computer, same make and model, into a second shopping cart.

Dickerson’s boyfriend allegedly placed the cart with the second computer at the back of the store while Dickerson paid for the first computer. The pair exited and put the first computer in their car, police said.

Dickerson then re-entered the store, according to police reports, and found the second computer, still in the cart, went to the service desk and used the receipt for the first computer to obtain a refund for approximately $534.

At this point, the officer detained Dickerson, who is due in court on March 1 at 9 a.m.

• Willie J. Cater, 42, of the 1300 block of South 50th Avenue in Cicero was charged with retail theft after allegedly trying to remove $340 worth of merchandise from the Wal-Mart on the 1300 block of Desplaines Avenue.

Wal-Mart agents told police that Cater entered the store on Feb. 20 at approximately 4 p.m. and was observed removing items from the displays and shoving them down the front of his pants.

Cater allegedly walked out of the store without paying. When the agents stopped him, they told police he had two portable DVD/Television Players, three BUM wrist watches and a DOOM 3 strategy guide worth approximately $341.

Cater is expected in court on Feb. 22
at 9 a.m.

Theft of purse/wallet

• A Chicago woman reported having her purse stolen by unknown offenders while working at the Blockbuster on the 100 block of Harlem Avenue on Feb. 23 between 12:30 and 1:24 p.m.

The woman, an employee at the store, told police she put her purse on the counter behind the register and when she checked on it, it was gone.

The purse is tan and dark brown and
contained her identification cards, house keys and $65.

• A Westchester woman reported her wallet stolen from her purse while she was shopping at the Wal-Mart on the 1300 block of Desplaines Avenue on Feb. 18 at approximately 4:30 p.m.

The woman told police she left her purse unattended and when she returned, her black wallet was missing. It contained eight credit cards, a Wal-Mart cash card, several identification cards and $25.

• That same day, at approximately 3:30 p.m., a Forest Park woman reported having her purse stole while shopping at Wal-Mart.

The woman said she left her black purse in the cart unattended and returned to find it gone. In it were her identification papers, house keys, and her daughter’s tax papers.

Burglary to business

• Unknown offender(s) broke into the Suburban Fellowship Center on the 7400 block of Harrison sometime between Feb. 18 at 11:30 p.m. and Feb. 19 at 6 a.m.

The burglars gained entry into the center and forced open a locked kitchen door with a pry tool, proceeding to the locked upstairs office. Nothing was taken.

Burglary to apartment

• A Forest Park man reported that an unknown burglar entered his studio apartment while he was sleeping and took $700 from the table.

The man told officers he was sleeping 10 feet away from the table on the night of Feb. 25 on the first block of Rockford. When the man woke up the next morning, he found his door ajar and the money gone.

• These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department
between Feb. 18 and Feb. 27 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in this report has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not yet been adjudicated.
“compiled by Melissa Lou