A man accused of trying to swipe almost $400 worth of DVDs from Wal-Mart is also facing a battery charge after allegedly fighting with a store employee who attempted to intervene in the alleged theft.
According to a police department report on the June 30 incident, Reginald Ware, 43, was spotted by a store employee in the electronics department of the retail giant. While browsing the aisles, according to police, Ware stuffed 17 videos into his pants. A closed-circuit security camera was also monitoring Ware’s alleged activities, according to authorities.
The items had a retail value of more than $389, according to a department report.
As Ware attempted to leave the Roosevelt Road store, an employee confronted him in the parking lot, but was reportedly shoved in the chest. The two men began scuffling with one another and eventually went to the ground where Ware was taken into custody by the store employee, according to police.
Ware, a Chicago resident, was charged with a felony count of retail theft in addition to the battery charge.
Startled suspect leads brief pursuit
A case that began with an attempted burglary to a woman’s car at a Harlem Avenue gas station ended with a brief pursuit and a single charge for property damage after the suspect allegedly slid across the hood of a parked car in an attempt to flee police.
According to a department report of the July 1 incident, 20-year-old Cameron Baker was spotted by the owner of a gas station at 949 Harlem Ave. as he attempted to burglarize an unattended car at the pump. The business owner yelled at Baker, prompting the man to flee the area on foot. Police were called to the scene, however, the woman who owned the car had already left the area.
The officer then radioed for others to be on the lookout for the suspect. Baker was quickly spotted riding a BMX style bicycle near the junction of Desplaines and Jackson streets, according to a report, but ditched the bike when an unmarked patrol car activated its emergency lights. Once again leading the chase on foot, Baker jumped onto the hood of a parked vehicle, scratching the paint, before he was taken into custody.
The bicycle was returned to its rightful owner, and the man whose car was scratched was notified, but authorities were unable to track down the woman from the gas station. Baker was charged with a single count of property damage for the scratches in the hood of the parked car.
Police cite drivers for weight
On July 2 two truck drivers were cited for driving with too heavy a load in Forest Park after an officer observed that both vehicles were traveling with expired registrations. Shortly before 8:30 a.m. a Ryder rental truck being driven by a Wheaton man was stopped at the junction of Harrison and Desplaines streets, according to a report, and issued a citation for $490. Roughly four hours later another vehicle at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Harrison Street was stopped for driving with an expired license plate. The Bolingbrook man also received a $490 citation, according to a department report.
In both cases it was not made clear in department reports by how much the vehicles exceeded their allowable weight limits.
Too loud
Upon hearing the music blasting from the 18-year-old driver’s Pontiac, an officer who was nearly a block away from the car switched on his lights and siren to issue the man a ticket for violating a local noise ordinance. But while waiting at a traffic signal at the corner of Harlem and Madison streets, Fancher Cameron III, the driver of the car, seemingly ignored the officer’s instructions to pull over.
Once the policeman was able to get Cameron’s attention, he asked the teen why he did not immediately pull to the side of the road. According to the officer’s report on the June 30 stop, Cameron said he could not hear the siren.
Trespassing on the tracks
Two men who have been warned by transit officials not to trespass on the Chicago Transit Authority’s rails were arrested and charged July 2 with criminal trespassing. The incident occurred shortly after 7 a.m. when police were called to 701 Harlem Ave. to investigate a possible theft.
According to a department report, John McDonald, 53, and Michael Callahan, 29, were suspected of stealing copper wire from CTA property. Police met both men at the rail station and found two large trash bags in their possession. Transit agents did not believe any of the contents in the bags to be CTA property, but reiterated a concern that the men were disrupting train service by being on the tracks.
nAnyone 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 June 30 and July 2, 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
