The Blockbuster at 109 Harlem Ave. was robbed on June 5, an assistant manager told police.
The assistant manager said she arrived at work around 11:20 a.m. and saw a man wandering around the store, seemingly waiting for other customers to leave. Once the customers had left, he brought several items to the counter to purchase.
He then displayed a black handgun with a long barrel and demanded all the money in the register. The assistant manager complied with the request, and the man left the store, briefly re-entering to say “I didn’t do anything” before fleeing the scene.
The manager of the store said she was off to the side and did not realize the store had been robbed until she saw the man re-enter the store. The manager agreed to provide police with the store’s surveillance tape.
Man busted with pot, cash after traffic stop
Police pulled over a 1999 Buick for disobeying a traffic signal on June 3, and a name check showed the driver, Aaron D. Barnes, 38, had a suspended license.
Police searched the car and found a baggie with suspected marijuana, weighing 16 grams, along with $275 in cash, in the armrest. Another $1,066 was found in Barnes’ pocket.
He was charged with driving with a suspended license, disobeying a traffic device, and possession of cannabis.
Woman takes anger out on gas pumps
A clerk from Thornton’s gas station, 601 Harlem Ave., told police that a woman came into the store June 7, threw a credit card on the counter, and commanded employees to “turn on the pump.”
The clerk refused service due to the woman’s behavior. She then went outside to the pumps and slammed all three nozzles against the pavement before getting back into her white Ford Escort and fleeing southbound on Harlem.
Police searched the area with negative results. The clerk said the pumps had been working earlier in the day, but were no longer working after the incident.
‘Creepy’ man tries to steal laundry
A resident of the 1400 block of Elgin Avenue reported to police that, on the morning of June 8, she spotted a man taking clothing off her drying line while sitting on her back porch.
The woman told police that when she said, “Hey, those are my clothes,” he said, “Oh, I just needed some clothes,” then put the clothes down, and left the yard, heading eastbound on a dark blue bike.
Police checked the area for the offender with negative results. The resident told police that “he did not appear homeless, but he was creepy.”
Man found with gun
Police observed Larue Pierre Bassett, 21, of Maywood, walking eastbound on Van Buren Street the night of June 9, along with a young woman. Police ordered the two to stop because the woman looked under 17, and they suspected a curfew violation.
The two ignored police requests to stop, at one point turning around and saying, “We’re trying to catch the train.” When they finally complied, police determined that Bassett was 21, while the woman was 19.
As the woman retrieved her ID, Bassett appeared to be positioning his right side away from police. Police searched him and found a loaded .32 caliber pistol wrapped in a red handkerchief. Officer Marcin Scizlowics and Lt. Steve Weiler arrested him.
The woman started crying and denied knowledge of the gun. She said they were walking to the train from her godmother’s house in Maywood.
When asked about the gun at the police station, Bassett repeatedly replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He was charged with two felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of firearm ammunition.
“Compiled by Seth Stern
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between June 2 and June 9 and represent only 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.
