Officers responded to a call on the 300 block of Burkhardt Court because three men were allegedly lifting a black Mercury Cougar from its parking stall and into the middle of a parking lot.

The incident occurred on June 11 at 2:45 a.m. and once on the scene the officer observed the suspects: Lou G. Malandruccolo, Joseph A. Skirtmont and Antonio E. Vargas, using a black toolkit to tamper with a one-way sign on the corner of Lincoln and Brown.

The suspects saw the officer and quickly closed the trunk of their car, ditched their toolkit into the bushes and fled the scene.

The suspects were all apprehended and brought back to the parking lot where they had allegedly moved the car. The officer noticed that all three were seemingly intoxicated. After several requests from the officer, Malandruccolo, a Chicago native, finally opened his trunk. Inside the officer found a white and orange barricade/horse and a two hour parking sign.

Malandruccolo, 21, admitted to taking the barricade from the corner of Burkhardt and Madison and the sign from the corner of Burkhardt and Warren.

When asked why they were moving the vehicle they responded that it was part of a joke. The owner of the vehicle was a friend of theirs. After several calls, the friend was reached and he moved his car into its stall and out of the middle of the lot.

Vargas and Skirtmont were released from the scene and Malandruccolo was placed into custody and taken to the station.

Battery

A Forest Park woman called police after an altercation between her and an ex-boyfriend allegedly got out of hand. The incident occurred on the 1200 block of Circle Avenue on June 10 at 10:06 a.m.

The suspect, Demetrius Sciplin, called the victim and asked if he could come over and talk earlier that morning. The victim agreed and attested that the conversation was going fine until Sciplin allegedly said that he was going to gather his things. The victim explained to Sciplin that he did not have any property in her residence. Sciplin allegedly became upset and violent.

The victim claimed that Sciplin allegedly grabbed her by the neck with one hand and was attempting to hit her with his other hand while backing her up against a wall. The victim freed herself but Sciplin caught her and threw her to the ground where he then allegedly proceeded to climb on top of her and choke her with both hands.

The victim attempted to deescalate the attack by telling Sciplin that she was sorry and he eventually let her stand up. At this point the victim ran out of the apartment with Sciplin yelling and chasing her. She was able to protect herself by hiding behind vehicles and even managed to get back into the apartment and lock Sciplin out and call the Forest Park Police Department.

Sciplin was detained and brought to the police station. The victim was brought in, signed a battery complain, and her injuries were photographed.

Retail theft

Two women were charged with retail theft after allegedly stealing a back pack and using a receipt found outside the store to return it for cash. The incident occurred on June 10 at 5:44 p.m. at Wal-Mart, 1300 Desplaines Ave.

The suspects Hope M. Wesley and Felicia A. Jones entered the Wal-Mart and selected a backpack valued at $19.88 along with several other items. Jones passed the last point of purchase at which time she met Wesley at the service desk and allegedly gave Wesley the backpack, which was not paid for.

Jones then obtained a refund in the amount of $69.66 using a receipt she found outside of the store.

Both women were placed in custody once they left the store. Wesley told authorities that she lives in a hotel with Jones and that they needed the money to pay for food and the hotel bill. Wesley had previously been convicted for retail theft on Oct. 12, 2004.

Auto theft

A Forest Park resident allegedly had a Budget rental car stolen by her friend, Antonio Rainey. The incident occurred on the 500 block of Desplaines Ave. on June 7 at 2 p.m.

The victim told Rainey not to take the gray four-door 2005 Pontiac Grand Am, however he proceeded to do so anyway, police report. The victim attempted to contact Wright but has been unavailable to do so.

Residential theft

A Forest Park man reported his golf clubs stolen. The incident occurred on June 12 between 12:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. The man claims that he left the clubs in the trunk of his gray 2004 Buick LeSabre. He believes the trunk may have been opened inadvertently by the remote on his key chain. The clubs were Wilson “Fat Shafts” estimated to cost $1,100.

• These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between June 5 and June 12 and represents 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 Povilas Zukauskas