A taxi driver was pistol whipped by a pair of armed thieves who demanded the man’s money before making off with several items, according to police. The alleged armed robbery occurred at about 10:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve while the driver was waiting for a fare at the CTA station at 711 Desplaines Ave.

According to a department report, two unidentified men jumped into the backseat of the cab and immediately revealed that they were both armed. One of the suspects leaned over and turned the car off. With both weapons pointed at the cab driver’s head, one of the suspects said, “give me your money, I am a stick up guy, I am the best,” according to the report. He then began beating the driver in the back of the head with the gun.

After rifling through the driver’s pockets and taxi, the suspects allegedly made off with a dash-mounted GPS unit, a cell phone, $150 in cash and a set of keys. The offenders fled to a beige or tan four-door Oldsmobile where a third individual was waiting for them, according to the report, and headed west on Interstate 290.

Combative suspect stunned

Kevin Mabry, of Oak Park, was arrested for public intoxication, resisting arrest and battery during the early evening of Jan. 6 after allegedly shoving and threatening the arresting officer. The continued provocations earned Mabry an electric jolt when the officer used his Taser to subdue the reportedly combative suspect.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., police saw the intoxicated 28-year-old walking along Harlem Avenue near the intersection with Madison Street. He was shouting at pedestrians, according to police, and immediately directed his tongue lashings toward the approaching officer. After pushing the officer and again yelling several threats, the suspect was ordered to comply or be stunned by the Taser.

According to a department report, Mabry did not comply and was shot in the chest with the device. Several cycles of the Taser’s electric shock were needed to subdue the suspect. Once on the ground Mabry continued to resist and was shocked a fourth time, according to police.

Store pinches alleged thieves

Within a 24-hour span, police were called to the AJ Wright clothing store on Roosevelt Road twice for complaints of theft. On Dec. 31, shortly before 4 p.m., police took three Chicago men into custody on felony theft charges after the trio was allegedly caught shoplifting roughly $139 worth of merchandise. Two of the suspects, William Brown, 26, and Jeremiah Kirkland, 27, have previous convictions for retail theft. The third suspect in the case, James Brown, 23, was convicted of robbery in 2002, according to a department report.

The following day at 1:15 p.m., police were again called to the retailer for a report of three women accused of trying to rush the exits with armloads of clothing. Tamara Carter, 19, of Chicago, and Shakieta Jones, 20, were each taken into custody on felony theft charges. A third suspect in the case was able to flee the store before police arrived, according to the report. Carter and Jones are accused of attempting to steal more than $740 worth of merchandise.

Suspect curses police, mayor

While patrolling the 500 block of Ferdinand Avenue on Jan. 2, police discovered 50-year-old Gerald Redmond staggering in the street shortly before 7 p.m., apparently intoxicated. Redmond, a Forest Park resident, nearly fell as police approached him, and told authorities he was walking in the road because the sidewalks had not been plowed. According to a department report, the officer observed the sidewalks on both sides of the street were free of snow.

Police noticed a strong odor of alcohol on Redmond, that his speech was slurred and that he was having trouble standing still. Asked how much alcohol he had consumed, Redmond responded with a litany of profanities, according to police.

The suspect was cited for two local ordinance violations, public intoxication and walking in the road.

“Redmond stated that I could go [expletive] myself, along with the mayor, for having such stupid ordinances,” police noted in their report.

Traffic stop yields marijuana arrest

A 20-year-old Berwyn resident was arrested on drug possession charges after a Jan. 5 traffic stop revealed roughly 20 grams of marijuana, according to police.

Christopher Lopez was pulled over along the 1100 block of Harlem Avenue around 9:30 p.m. for driving a vehicle with tinted windows. When authorities approached the car, the smell of cannabis was “potent,” according to a department report, and Lopez was asked if he had anything illegal in the car. The suspect allegedly turned over a marijuana cigarette and a plastic bag containing a loose quantity of the drug. Several passengers in the car were released without charges and Lopez was taken into custody.

These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Dec. 31 and Jan. 6, 2008, 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.

-Josh Adams