Police saw a man on top of another man, punching him repeatedly, in the middle of the intersection at Madison Street and Desplaines Avenue on the night of March 17.
Officers ordered Brendan Carrol, the man on top, to get away from Brandon Hemstreet, the man on the bottom, but Carrol continued throwing punches to Hemstreet’s face, according to a police report.
Officers then deployed a electric stun gun, hitting Carrol on the left side, at which point they were able to handcuff him and place him in a squad car. Two men who said they had witnessed the incident accompanied the officers back to the police station.
One of the men, who said he was a friend of the two involved in the fight, told police that the two men had been fighting inside the Scoreboard Sports Bar, 7505 Madison St., and had continued fighting after being kicked out.
The other witness said he did not know the subjects, and began to dance in the lobby of the police station, stating “I’m drunk,” according to the report.
Hemstreet said that after being escorted from the bar for unknown reasons, his sweatshirt was swiped from his hand and before he knew it he was in a fight.
Carrol said that the fight began after someone threw a bottle at him inside the bar. When he left the bar to find a cab, he said, Hemstreet attacked him. He said he did not hear the officers’ commands because of the adrenaline rush.
Both men were charged with public fighting.
Apartment vandalized
twice in one day
Police responded to a call reporting a broken door and window at an apartment on Lathrop Avenue on March 13. They found that despite the exterior damage and messy appearance inside the apartment, it did not appear that anything had been taken from the apartment.
Though the witness who reported the incident said she did not see anybody suspicious, another witness said she had heard men arguing followed by a loud bang, and then heard someone run upstairs. The woman to whom the apartment is registered told police that she rents the apartment for her mother, who lives there alone.
Later the same day, a woman reported to police that while walking her dog, she saw a man in a black and white windbreaker standing in front of the apartment’s bay window. She said she then heard glass shattering, and saw the man flee northbound. The landlord was contacted, and said that the apartment’s tenant has been in the hospital for about two weeks. The daughter again told police that she did not know who was responsible for the incidents.
Electronics stolen from
day care center
The director of the Kangaroo Korner day care center, 900 Beloit Ave., told police that an unknown offender entered the center sometime between March 10 and 13 and stole three portable stereos, valued at $200 each, and a computer valued at $800.
Prior to the arrival of police, several employees and children had handled items in the cabinet where the computer had been, making it impossible for police to recover evidence.
Police noted that the push-bar on the door on the southeast side of the building appeared to be loose, and that the rolling bar on the door jam was also loose.
No serial numbers were provided for the stolen equipment.
Woman caught stealing DVDs
A loss prevention agent for Wal-Mart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., saw a woman later identified as Kristen Hassler place 15 DVDs taken from the store’s shelves into a large green purse on March 17.
After she exited the store without paying, the agent stopped her and held her for police, and she was placed in custody and charged with retail theft. The DVDs, valued at nearly $395, were recovered.
While in custody it was found that Hassler was on parole for retail theft. The Illinois Department of Corrections was informed of the arrest.
Disturbance at White Hen Pantry
Police responded to a call reporting a disturbance at White Hen Pantry, 7660 Madison St., on March 19. They found Bernard Gills involved in an altercation with another man, later found to be his stepfather.
The stepfather told police that he had picked Gills up in Maywood earlier that day, and that Gills had been drinking and smoking crack all weekend. He said that Gills had asked him for more money for crack, and when he declined, became verbally abusive, noting that Gills had physically threatened him in similar situations in the past.
Gills, who appeared intoxicated and smelled of alcohol, told officers he was “on the pipe” earlier in the day. During a pat down, police found a crack pipe in his left pants pocket. Gills was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
” Compiled by Seth Stern
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between March 13 and March 20, 2006 and represent only a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone charged in this report has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not yet been adjudicated.
