A two-car collision at the intersection of Harvard Street and Lathrop Avenue Jan. 19 sent one of the vehicles skidding into a nearby building. No injuries were reported in the crash, but the driver of the red Honda Civic that left the roadway was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence.

The accident occurred at 4:30 p.m. and when police arrived to sort out the details, they immediately suspected 42-year-old John P. Sheehan of being drunk. Sheehan, a Forest Park resident, smelled of alcohol and told police he was on his way to the store to “pick up some more beer” when the accident occurred. According to a department report, Sheehan allegedly told authorities he had consumed three beers prior the crash.

The suspect failed a series of field sobriety tests, according to police and once he was taken into custody he began spouting bizarre statements.

“I don’t care what happens, if this turns bad or not good, maybe it will wake me up,” Sheehan allegedly said. “If I get in trouble I’ll do anything to stay in there.”

A Breathalyzer exam revealed a blood-alcohol concentration of .125, according to a police report. The legal limit in Illinois is .08.

There was no mention in the report of damage sustained by the property at 944 Lathrop Ave.

Thieves slicker than a banana peel

While shopping for produce at the Ultra Foods grocery store on Roosevelt Road, a woman’s purse was stolen while she talked to another customer about bananas, according to a department report.

Shortly after 3 p.m. on Jan. 16, the victim was browsing the aisles when a man approached her and began asking about green bananas. Throughout the conversation, the woman’s purse was in a shopping cart next to her. According to police, at the end of the conversation, the woman looked at her purse, saw that it was open and that her wallet was missing.

Various credit cards, medical identification cards and $43 in cash were among the items reported missing, according to the report.

Burglar leaves empty handed

Sometime between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Jan. 16, a burglar allegedly made his way through a home on the 800 block of Lathrop Avenue, taking only an MP3 player, according to a department report.

Police suspect the perpetrator entered through a porch window that was unlocked and then climbed through a kitchen window to get inside the house. The family pet, a golden retriever, was let loose and later reported to police as wandering the neighborhood about a block away.

Police found evidence that the suspect scoured the entire house, but the resident reported only an iPod to be missing. Authorities also found evidence that the suspect had entered the garage, rifling through a vehicle’s glove box and trunk. The stolen MP3 player was later found in the backyard by the garage, according to police.

Bartering ends with armed robbery

A man who works in a family-owned clothing store was allegedly held at gunpoint after he agreed to meet a potential customer in the parking lot of a drugstore.

Shortly before 3 p.m. on Jan. 16 police were called to the Walgreens at 7200 Roosevelt Road where the victim said he had just been robbed by four men. According to the department report, the alleged victim said he agreed to meet the culprits in the parking lot to sell them a pair of shoes. He had been contacted by the suspects presumably after they received his businesses card, which he distributes while working at the family business.

While negotiating a sale price with one of the suspects, another man got out of the car and stuck a small caliber handgun into the man’s ribcage. Money and jewelry were demanded before the suspects fled in a silver or gray Jeep Liberty, according to the department report.

Break-up turns sour, then physical

A 25-year-old woman was arrested on domestic battery charges Jan. 17, following an alleged attack involving a pair of scissors and a telephone.

Police responded to an apartment at 214 Circle Ave. shortly after 5 p.m. to find a mess of clothing and a television in the building’s hallway. Nichelle Thomas and her live-in boyfriend were apparently in the midst of a dispute over whether the boyfriend would be taking the television set with him.

According to statements made to the police, the boyfriend had allegedly tried to end their relationship and move his belongings from the home. The woman became enraged when he grabbed the television and lashed out at him, first with a telephone and then with a pair of scissors. Thomas told police that she was defending herself, but a witness to the dispute said things were calm until the boyfriend attempted to move the TV.

A recording of Thomas’ call to the police revealed the woman was shouting into the phone and at her boyfriend, said police, while the boyfriend could be heard in the background stating that he simply wants to leave with his things.

These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Jan. 15 and Jan. 20, 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