Police confiscated a piece of fruit from a Bensenville man, accusing him of being in possession of drug paraphernalia after he apparently fashioned an apple into a bong.
According to a department report, 28-year-old Nelson Meza was stopped Dec. 17 for a traffic violation when police noticed what smelled like marijuana coming from inside the car. The officer asked Meza if there was anything illegal inside the vehicle, to which Meza allegedly responded in the affirmative. A quick search revealed a small quantity of marijuana in the center console, according to police.
Also in the console was “a fresh apple which had been modified to have a hole on top of the apple and a hole on the side of the apple,” police noted. Marijuana residue was allegedly found inside the apple, and the fruit apparently smelled of burnt cannabis.
Meza was issued two ordinance citations for allegedly being in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia (the apple). He also received a ticket for driving without a valid registration.
Felony charge follows alleged theft
A 50-year-old Chicago Heights man was taken into custody Dec. 18 on a felony shoplifting charge after he allegedly walked out of a clothing store with a shopping cart full of unpaid items.
According to a department report, an employee of AJ Wright on Roosevelt Road called police when she spotted Jimmy Thompson trying to steal several items. When police arrived shortly after 4 p.m., Thompson was outside the store pushing a shopping cart loaded with bags of clothing, according to a report. The merchandise had a total retail value of more than $260.
Jostling leads to battery charges
Two Wal-Mart customers were arrested on battery charges after allegedly shoving each other and a store employee while waiting in line to pay for their items. The skirmish apparently erupted when one of the customers accused the other of bringing too many items into the express lane.
According to a department report, police were called to the store on Roosevelt Road shortly after 9 p.m. Dec. 18. Employees had already detained the suspects and in explaining the altercation to police, played footage from a security camera. According to the report, 23-year-old Ashley Wiley of Chicago shoved Leonard Clayton, 59, after a brief verbal exchange. Wiley allegedly told police she shoved the man because he had too many items in his basket to use the express checkout lane. Clayton, she said, was rude and called her a derogatory name.
The footage also showed a store employee attempting to intervene, but that employee was pushed away by Clayton, according to police.
When police began speaking with Clayton, also of Chicago, they smelled alcohol on the man’s breath and asked whether he had been drinking. Clayton allegedly said that he had, but denied wrongdoing and asked to press charges against the 23-year-old woman.
Wiley was taken into custody for shoving Clayton, and Clayton was taken into custody for shoving the store employee.
Makeup allegedly stolen
Two Riverside women suspected by a Wal-Mart employee of having shoplifted in the past were picked up Dec. 15 on charges that they stole several hundred dollars worth of beauty products.
Jolanta Kulasauskiene, 43, and Laurynn Kulasuaskaite, 20, were allegedly seen removing makeup, hair dye and other items from their packaging shortly before 10 p.m. and stuffing the items into their purses. An employee of the store called police while security personnel watched as the two women tried to leave the store with more than $208 worth of merchandise between them.
While at the police station with the suspects, authorities learned that neither woman has a criminal record. It was determined that both women were responsible for half of the allegedly stolen items, resulting in the lesser charge of a local ordinance violation.
Graffiti on Roosevelt
A drugstore on Roosevelt Road was defaced with graffiti, according to police, but it was not immediately clear who may have been responsible for defacing the property. According to a department report, the letters “WTS” were painted in red on the southeast corner of Walgreen’s. Authorities noted the lettering on the morning of the Dec. 18. Photos of the lettering were taken and a request to Cook County to have the graffiti removed was made.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Dec. 15 and Dec. 20, 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
