An intoxicated 26-year-old accused of urinating in public made matters much worse for himself, according to police, when he spit on one police officer and took a swing at another.
Terrance Soraghan, of Forest Park, was seen urinating on a building at the corner of Madison and Marengo at about 3 a.m. Jan. 18, according to a department report. When an officer approached Soraghan, he immediately noticed the smell of alcohol, slurred speech and staggered gait. Soraghan allegedly denied having urinated on the building, and when told that he would be ticketed, told the officer to “go ahead, ticket me. I love tickets.”
En route to the police station, Soraghan allegedly cursed at the officers repeatedly and at one point accused them of trying to plant drugs on him. He was not charged with any drug-related offenses. But when Soraghan spit on an officer, he earned himself a misdemeanor battery charge, according to police.
Once at the station, Soraghan allegedly continued to be verbally confrontational with police. An officer asked him to take off his shoe so that the laces could be removed; when Soraghan declined, police grabbed his pant leg. It was at this point, according to the report, that Soraghan attempted to punch an officer in the face.
“Soraghan was pinned to the bench and his shoe removed,” police stated.
A short while later, police found Soraghan had urinated again, this time on the floor of the holding cell.
He was charged with public intoxication, public urination, battery, aggravated assault and criminal defacement of property.
Dispute prompts 911 calls
An incident of domestic violence alleged to have occurred in the roadway at the corner of Elgin and Franklin on Jan. 19 prompted several 911 calls, according to a department report. Responding officers arrested two men.
Shortly before 5 p.m., a man and a woman who told police they had been dating for about six months were driving through the area when an argument over household chores erupted. The man, 21-year-old Clem Tadych of Forest Park, reportedly became enraged by the dispute and broke the woman’s cellphone. Fearing for her safety, the woman ran from the car and began walking south along Elgin.
Witnesses to the incident reported that Tadych chased the woman, grabbed her around the neck and pulled her by the hair. She told police that her boyfriend grabbed her around the waist and bit her hand when she tried to pull away.
Tadych told authorities he never touched the woman and that they were just arguing.
“I observed that [she] was unable to look at Tadych and it appeared she was intimidated by him,” police noted in their report. Based on the statements made and the behavior observed, Tadych was taken into custody for domestic battery. But the woman declined to press charges herself.
A passenger in the vehicle with the couple was also taken into custody. Edgar Torres, 24, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. Police allegedly found a syringe in his pocket.
Fish in a barrel
A man who was standing in the 8300 block of Roosevelt mistakenly flagged a passing police car Jan. 22 when he thought the officer was a taxi he had called for. When the officer pulled over, he recognized the waiting passenger as 44-year-old Anthony Citro of Country Club Hills. According to a department report on the incident, Citro “has a history of missing court and having active warrants.”
The officer ran Citro’s name through a department database and found a warrant out of South Will County for failing to appear in court on aggravated charges of driving with a suspended license. Citro was taken into custody.
DUI suspect blows .187
A Melrose Park man was arrested for driving under the influence Jan. 23 when police reportedly watched him swerve along Roosevelt at about 6:30 p.m. The suspect, 47-year-old Joseph Armato, registered a blood-alcohol content of more than twice the legal limit, according to a department report.
When police stopped Armato in the Living Word Christian Center parking lot, they immediately suspected he was drunk. The smell of alcohol poured from the car, his eyes were bloodshot and his words were difficult to understand, according to a report.
Armato was taken into custody when police learned his license was suspended. While at the station, the man allegedly failed three field sobriety tests. A breath exam reportedly revealed his blood-alcohol content to be .187. The legal limit in Illinois is .08.
Armato was charged with two felony counts of aggravated DUI and one count of aggravated driving with a suspended license.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Jan. 17 and Jan. 24, 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
