A Broadview man with four convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol was again arrested on drunken driving charges after police found him passed out at the wheel on Roosevelt Road.

Charlie Turner, Jr. was slumped over the steering wheel of his 1999 Mercury shortly before 6 p.m. on April 20 when authorities were called to the 8600 block of Roosevelt Road. The car was stopped at a traffic light, which was green, and holding up traffic, according to police.

Officers were able to wake Turner, who attempted to drive away. One of the officers managed to reach into the car and pull the keys from the ignition. The front of Turner’s pants were soaked with urine and the suspect allegedly admitted to having consumed “a few beers” in a nearby park.

After failing several field sobriety tests, Turner was taken into custody and brought to the police station where an alcohol breath test was performed. The suspect’s blood-alcohol level was .196, according to police, well in excess of the state’s legal limit of .08.

Because of Turner’s history of DUI convictions, authorities charged him with a felony.

Early morning garage fire spreads

An early morning fire on the south side of town damaged property at four addresses, but residents of the area were not injured.

According to a police report, a fire broke out in the garage of 1014 Circle Ave. just after 3 a.m. on April 19. Authorities reported hearing loud popping and sparking sounds while at the scene, and one resident said he was upstairs reading when the lights in the house dimmed and then he heard a sound like a “rake scraping across the roof.” Rushing to the window, the man saw that the garage had caught fire and immediate got everyone out of the home.

An adjacent garage at 1012 Circle Ave. also caught fire and the heat from the flames damaged vehicles and property at 1020 Circle Ave. and 1011 Marengo Ave. One car’s windows were shattered by the flames and the heat melted the seats inside.

In total, five vehicles were damaged in the blaze and the contents of at least two garages appeared to be a total loss.

Panhandler dashes across highway

A man suspected of panhandling along the entrance ramps for the Eisenhower Expressway off Harlem Avenue jumped into highway traffic to avoid being arrested, according to police, causing a minor traffic accident.

Curtis O. Jackson, 47, of Chicago, was spotted by police shortly before 4:30 p.m. as he approached several vehicles asking for money. The officer ordered Jackson to stop where he was, but the man ran down the ramp a short distance before jumping over the wall onto the expressway. After running east along the highway, Jackson crossed the westbound lanes and headed north into Oak Park, according to police. In the eastbound lanes where Jackson landed, a minor collision occurred.

Oak Park police were able to catch the suspect using a description broadcast over the radio. He was charged with resisting an officer and reckless conduct in addition to the solicitation charge.

Suspect’s pants ‘covered’ with blood

Called to the 7600 block of Madison Street for a report of a suspicious vehicle, police were confronted with an empty but idling car, and a man who kept reaching for the pockets of his blood spattered pants.

As it turns out, the suspect was hiding a few grams of marijuana, but he was not armed. And the blood that “covered” his pants, according to police, was apparently the result of having fallen down a flight of stairs the night before. Andrew Schulz, 26, of Belvidere, was cited April 20 with violating a local drug ordinance.

Husband charged with beating wife

A woman suffering from multiple sclerosis was beaten by her 70-year-old husband in their Marengo Avenue home after the man grew frustrated with having to care for her, according to police.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. on April 15, police were called to the 100 block of Marengo Avenue for a report of a domestic dispute. The alleged victim met the police in the hallway and was holding an ice pack to her left eye, “which appeared very swollen, red and had abrasions.” According to the woman and a family friend who witnessed the alleged attack, the couple began arguing after the woman returned home from church and discovered that her husband, Malcolm E. Anderson, had thrown out her magazines. The confrontation quickly escalated and Anderson began punching his wife in the face, knocking her to the ground and then kicking her repeatedly.

“Malcolm became irate due to the fact that he had to drive her to acupuncture and physical therapy to treat her MS,” police said in their report.

During an interview with Anderson, the man allegedly admitted to beating his wife saying, “I’m at the end of my limit with her.”

Anderson was charged with misdemeanor battery and his wife was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between April 13 and April 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.

-Compiled by Josh Adams