A man who claimed to be heading home after a few post-game drinks was charged with battery Sept. 19 after allegedly using a baseball bat to strike a bar patron in the knee.
Twenty-six-year-old David Lepsi, of Forest Park, told authorities he was drinking with friends at Murphy’s on Madison Street after a softball game when he caught a ride to Molly Malone’s down the street. The bars were closing, however, and the tavern told Lepsi he couldn’t come in, so he started walking home. As he passed another bar, Mugsy’s, seven people stepped outside and began taunting him, according to Lepsi. He tried to walk away, but when they continued to come after him he pulled the bat from inside his pants and hit one of the subjects in the knee.
Other witnesses to the altercation confirmed that Lepsi struck another man in the knee, according to a department report.
The alleged victim refused medical attention and Lepsi was taken into custody on a single battery charge.
Doctor’s orders, honest
A Chicago man was spotted sitting at a corner on the 600 block of Harlem Avenue, apparently smoking marijuana in full view of the public. Daniel Miller, 63, was approached Sept. 21 by a police officer patrolling the area and attempted to hide the wooden pipe he was using by placing it in his sock, according to a department report. Police recovered the pipe and asked Miller if he had any more drugs with him.
“Yeah, I got some more in my sock for medicinal purposes,” Miller allegedly told police.
Inside a plastic container authorities indeed found roughly 1 gram of marijuana, but Miller was unable to provide any proof that the narcotic had been prescribed to him.
“Miller stated he does not have any paperwork, rather he considers it as ‘medicinal marijuana,'” authorities said in their report.
Miller was issued a citation for violating a local ordinance.
Motorist no stranger to courtrooms
A motorist with five convictions for driving under the influence was charged with a felony-level traffic violation after authorities allegedly caught him driving on a suspended license. According to a department report, 48-year-old John Reed, of Chicago, was stopped Sept. 20 for driving with an expired registration. When police began speaking with Reed, the man allegedly came clean.
“Let’s not play games, my license is suspended for DUI,” Reed allegedly told police.
Sure enough, a records check revealed Reed’s license was suspended, and that he had five convictions for driving under the influence. Records also showed, according to police, that Reed had three convictions for driving on a suspended license.
Rifle leads to felony charges
A 911 call at 10:30 p.m. Sept. 15 sent authorities rushing to a Hannah Avenue address for a report of a man with a shotgun. Upon arrival, police spotted three men in the backyard of 1132 Hannah Ave. allegedly handling a .30-caliber Remington rifle.
Neither Alfred Haynes, of Oak Park, Glenn Wheat nor Jermaine Majors, both of Forest Park, could produce any paperwork verifying their legal ownership of the gun, according to a department report. The weapon was seized and because both Haynes and Wheat are convicted felons, the trio was taken into custody.
In statements allegedly made to police, Haynes said he and Wheat were in Majors’ backyard when Majors said he had something to show them. Majors went into the house and returned with the gun. Haynes allegedly said he willingly handled the gun, but that he knows he is not supposed to be in possession of one.
Majors allegedly told authorities the gun does not belong to him and was left in his basement by a man named Cory. He only discovered the weapon when he went inside to get a piece of artwork he wanted to show his friends and found the weapon in the basement.
According to police, Wheat was “belligerent” and declined to give a statement.
On Sept. 1, 1999, Wheat was convicted of felony gun possession. In September 2006 Haynes was convicted of felony retail theft.
Both Haynes and Wheat were charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a convicted felon, a felony charge on its own. Majors was charged with not having a valid firearm owner’s identification card.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Sept. 15 and Sept. 21, 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
