A Westchester man who allegedly boasted to authorities of his expensive drug addiction was arrested May 23 for possession of cocaine and soliciting a prostitute.
Shortly before 5 p.m. that day, an officer recognized 33-year-old Anna Warren, of Maywood, leaning into the driver’s side window of a car sitting outside McGaffer’s Tavern on Roosevelt. Warren, according to police, is a known prostitute. The officer went to the car to find out what was taking place, and both parties began to leave the area. They were told to stop, and both complied, according to a department report.
The driver of the car in which Warren was leaning into, James Martinez, 51, of Westchester, reportedly told police that he knew Warren is a prostitute, but that he was only speaking with her to be “friendly.” Warren had asked him for money as he was leaving the bar, Martinez allegedly told police, and then asked if he would like for her to perform oral sex in exchange for $20.
The officer reportedly saw $40 in cash sitting on the passenger’s seat.
According to Warren, she waved Martinez down to ask him for some money to buy food, and he suggested they have sex. Martinez offered her $20 to perform oral sex and she had agreed, said Warren, according to police.
While taking Martinez into custody for soliciting a prostitute, police allegedly found 15 small plastic bags of cocaine in his pockets. The drugs totaled about 22 grams in weight. More than $640 in cash was also found. Martinez told police he has been addicted to cocaine for about 40 years and earlier that day bought 20 bags of cocaine for $500.
“Martinez stated he has used approximately three or four bags of cocaine already today, and he uses cocaine all day, every day,” police said in their report.
Each month, Martinez spends an estimated $5,000 to $6,000 on his drug habit, and in 2008 spent some $80,000 getting high, he allegedly told police. He owns two businesses, which earned him around $320,000 last year.
“I’m an alcoholic drug user,” Martinez allegedly said. “I love partying and I’m not going to stop.”
Hiding on the highway
A car that had pulled to the side of the Eisenhower Expressway caught the eye of police May 24, and authorities allegedly noticed the driver seemed preoccupied with something in the vehicle. Twice, it appeared that something small and silver was tossed out the window, and then police said they spotted a syringe.
Joshua Beck, 29, of Lombard, was taken into custody and as he got out of the car, a syringe filled with an opaque liquid fell to the driver’s seat, police said in their report. Other items commonly used to prepare heroin were seen in the passenger seat.
While at the police station, Beck allegedly told authorities he purchased the drugs near the intersection of Austin and Washington shortly before 1 p.m., and while driving west on the interstate, decided to pull over and ingest the heroin. He was charged with one felony count of drug possession and one count of having drug paraphernalia.
Teens caught with loaded gun
Three teenagers were picked up by police at about 10 p.m. May 30 after the car they were traveling in was stopped for having expired plates. But authorities allegedly smelled marijuana in the car and a subsequent search for drugs revealed a loaded .38 caliber handgun tucked underneath the passenger seat.
All three teens were taken into custody and police attempted to sort out to whom the gun belonged. Brendan Johnson, 17, of LaGrange, was sitting in the passenger seat when police stopped the car as it traveled along Roosevelt. Initially, he said he knew nothing of the gun, but when told the weapon would be tested for fingerprints, Johnson reportedly changed his story and said the gun belonged to a friend, “Pliez.”
Another passenger in the car, an 18-year-old Bellwood resident, was not charged in the incident. However, he told investigators that the gun belonged to Johnson.
Johnson later changed his story again and told police he was given the gun a couple weeks ago by Pliez to hide. He was planning to stash it in a garbage can in Chicago. Johnson was charged with three counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and defacing a firearm. The serial numbers on the gun were scratched out.
The driver of the car, 17-year-old Rashan Kyles, was charged with driving with expired plates.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between May 23 and May 31, 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
