A Randolph Street man was swept up in a police raid of his apartment April 30 that also netted a semi-automatic handgun, tablets of the synthetic drug Ecstasy and several bags of marijuana.
It’s unclear from a department report why authorities targeted the address, but after obtaining a search warrant for 28-year-old Hamdan A. Handoum and his home at 7342 Randolph St., police set up surveillance at about 4 p.m. Handoum and another suspect, 20-year-old Travis J. Libner, of Joliet, left the building and began driving east. They were eventually taken into custody by Forest Park police. Authorities allegedly found nine “small” bags of marijuana in Handoum’s possession and three more on Libner.
Meanwhile, back at the apartment, investigators found a Glock semi-automatic handgun with 15 live rounds. Seven tablets of Ecstasy and various drug paraphernalia were also recovered, according to police.
Handoum allegedly told authorities he had purchased 10 tablets of the synthetic drug for $210 to celebrate “420,” an annual holiday that falls on April 20 and is popular in the drug culture. The gun, he said, belonged to his girlfriend. She kept the firearm at his apartment so that her mother wouldn’t know about the weapon.
Handoum was charged with felony drug possession for the Ecstasy in addition to several misdemeanors for unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of ammunition and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Libner was cited with a local ordinance violation for the marijuana.
Mine, not yours
A man who left his car idling outside of his office on the 600 block of Grove Lane returned to the vehicle only to find a stranger sitting in the driver’s seat, trying to drive away, according to police.
Shortly before 5 p.m. on April 28, police were called to the neighborhood where they found Corey K. Crawford, 22, sitting in the lobby of a nearby condo building at 7757 Van Buren St. Upon seeing the officer Crawford allegedly said, “I wasn’t trying to steal that car … a lady left it for me.”
The owner of the 2006 black Cadillac CTS told authorities that when he returned to his car and found Crawford trying to put it in gear, he yelled for him to stop. After a moment Crawford exited the car and said, “It’s a nice car … a woman gave it to me.”
Crawford, a Chicago resident, was charged with trespassing.
Name that suspect
Police tacked an obstruction of justice charge onto an Oak Park woman’s list of traffic complaints after she allegedly gave authorities a fake name in an effort to dodge being arrested. Nevertheless, Kimberly S. Banks, 39, was taken into custody shortly before 12:30 p.m. on April 28.
A patrolling officer noticed Banks as she drove her blue Plymouth Neon through the intersection of Jackson and Circle streets. The car was missing a registration plate. Upon being stopped and asked for identification, Banks handed over a pair of traffic citations issued to a Lakida Stamps and told the officer she could not produce an insurance card because the vehicle belonged to a friend, Kimberly Banks. At the police station authorities confronted Banks with a photo of Stamps, which looked nothing like the woman she claimed to be. She eventually admitted her real name and said she lied because she didn’t want to be arrested for driving on a suspended license, according to a department report.
Police also allegedly found two grams of cocaine in the woman’s car. A computer check revealed a pair of outstanding warrants for her arrest.
Heroin user nabbed at gas station
At a Harlem Avenue gas station where police often make drug-related arrests, a Crystal Lake man was taken into custody after authorities allegedly found 12 grams of heroin – and all the tools necessary to inject it – in his car.
Shortly before 5 p.m. on May 4, officers became suspicious of a 1992 Ford Mustang that had been parked at Thornton’s, 601 Harlem Ave., for at least 15 minutes. When police turned their squad car around to approach the vehicle, the driver pulled out of the station and headed for the nearby expressway.
Once curbed, police said 23-year-old Matthew C. Peterson was “shaking uncontrollably” and sweating as he handed over his driver’s license. Police observed on the seat next to him a belt and several disposable lighters.
A search of Peterson’s pockets allegedly revealed seven foil packets of heroin. Inside the vehicle police found a syringe, a cotton swab, a burnt spoon and two more foil packets.
Peterson allegedly admitted he purchases heroin every three or four days from a dealer in Maywood or on the West Side of Chicago. He is facing a felony drug possession charge.
Anyone with information regarding the cases mentioned in this report, or on another matter, is encouraged to contact the department’s hotline at (708) 615-6239. Information may be left anonymously.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between April 28 and May 4, 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
