A woman shopping for plasma televisions at Wal-Mart was scammed out of $1,000 by a man claiming to be a manager at the retail store, according to a police report.

On Dec. 9 at about 6:30 p.m. the victim was in the electronics department of the store, 1300 Desplaines Ave., when a man wearing a dress shirt and tie approached her. According to the report, the unknown scammer claimed he would allow the woman to use his employee discount if she paid the cash directly to him. The victim retrieved $400 from an ATM machine in the store and paired it with another $600 in her purse before turning it over to the man.

According to police, the man took the money and walked to the back of the store, never to return again.

After speaking with security personnel at the store, the victim learned that no one fitting the description works at the store. Security cameras managed to capture some footage of the suspect, according to police, but the image quality is “extremely poor.”

Suspect netted on vehicle description

A failed shoplifting attempt still resulted in felony charges for a Chicago woman after police tracked the woman down using a description of her vehicle.

Just before 8 p.m. on Dec. 7, Cassandra Tripp, 41, allegedly placed a 13-inch television into a shopping cart at Kmart in an effort to steal the appliance. An employee at the store, 7630 W. Roosevelt Rd., chased Tripp into the parking lot, according to police, where the suspect abandoned the cart and the TV. Tripp then fled the scene in a yellow Pontiac Aztec.

An officer patrolling the area saw the brightly painted car heading east on Roosevelt Road and pulled the driver over. Tripp allegedly admitted to having been at the retail store and was later identified by the employee as the thief, according to police.

Baseball bat connects with windshield

A 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix bore the brunt of an argument after a group of men beat the car with baseball bats.

Shortly before 2 a.m. on Dec. 9 an unidentified man pulled into a parking lot behind USA Beverage at 7200 Madison St. where he found a man urinating. According to a police report, the driver of the Grand Prix asked the man “not to disrespect him” by peeing in the lot. An argument broke out and a second man pulled a baseball bat from the car they were traveling in.

The victim ran into his apartment only to hear the sound of glass breaking outside. When he returned to the alley, four or five men were watching as the one suspect bashed the car with the bat, according to police. The car’s rear windshield, passenger windows and front windshield were smashed, and several dents were made along the body.

No suspects were listed in the report, though all of the men reportedly had shaved heads.

Threats, shoving lead to battery charges

A 52-year-old Chicago resident is facing domestic battery charges after allegedly shoving his girlfriend into a piece of furniture with enough force to break the chair.

Police received a complaint on Dec. 4 that George Mills Jr. grabbed his girlfriend by the face and pushed her against a door after she received a phone call from an ex-boyfriend. The date of the alleged assault was redacted from a police report on the incident, however, the report states the attack occurred at 945 Troost Ave. shortly after 2 a.m. According to the report, Mills’ handling of the victim caused scratches to the woman’s chest. He then pushed her to the floor against a rocking chair, breaking the chair.

According to police, the victim said that Mills threatened to break her arms and legs, as he had done to previous girlfriends.

After speaking with co-workers, the victim said she decided to report the incident to police. The suspect was arrested at 7749 Roosevelt Rd. and given a court date in early December after allegedly admitting to pushing the woman after she received the phone call.

These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between December 4 and December 10, 2006, 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 been adjudicated.

Compiled by Josh Adams