A Forest Park woman told police she was waiting in the car June 1 while her boyfriend went into a Randolph Street gas station to buy cigarettes. But her boyfriend, 44-year-old James Diggs, didn’t return to the car. Instead, she saw him run out of the store after allegedly stealing more than $1,000 in cash from the register.
Police were called to the Citgo station on the 7300 block of Randolph where they met with Diggs’ girlfriend. According to a department report, the woman said she suspected Diggs would try and hide at her home located on the 200 block of Desplaines. Police went to the address and found their man hiding behind the woman’s home. Diggs was allegedly carrying $1,076 in cash in his pants’ pocket, and the clerk from the gas station was able to identify him as the man who swiped the money.
Diggs, a Chicago resident, was charged with felony theft after allegedly confessing to stealing the money.
Teen defends tip jar
A 17-year-old clerk at Dunkin Donuts on Madison filed complaints against an Oak Park man for allegedly stealing $1.90 from the tip jar.
The June 5 incident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. when Jessie Jackson Jr., 36, came into the store and allegedly swiped a handful of change from the tip jar, and then left, according to a department report. Jackson Jr. had allegedly been told repeatedly to stay out of the coffee shop, and the clerk recognized the man immediately. Authorities found Jackson at a nearby transit station on Harlem and recovered the clerk’s tip money.
Jackson Jr. was charged with theft and trespassing.
Booze, attitude prompt charges
A belligerent suspect who reeked of booze, had dried vomit on his clothes and was bleeding from his nose kept taunting police officers when they arrived at a Desplaines Avenue transit station to remove him from the premises.
On June 6, shortly before midnight, authorities could hear the man shouting profanities and racial slurs, according to a department report. Craig Stephens, a 41-year-old Elmwood Park man, told officers he would not go quietly and dared them to try and remove him. Stephens allegedly continued to launch profanities and slurs at the officers. Once in custody, the man attempted to spit on department personnel and was altogether uncooperative, according to a report. Stephens was charged with disorderly conduct, obstructing a police officer, battery and aggravated assault.
Co-workers charged with theft
Two Wal-Mart employees were charged with theft after they allegedly schemed to provide one of the employees with two new tires for his Chevrolet.
According to a department report, another employee at the Roosevelt Road store reported that a mechanic in the automotive department, Keith Hamilton, 32, had charged only $7 to 42-year-old Sam Morris Jr. when Hamilton installed a set of tires on Morris’ car. Hamilton told police the tires were used and that Morris gave him $20 to pocket. Morris, however, told authorities that Hamilton initiated the scheme and that the tires were brand new. He said he gave Hamilton $40 because he knew the tires were stolen.
The tires were valued at $170.
Dodge dealer finds tires missing
An employee at Park Plaza Dodge, an auto dealership on Roosevelt, came into work June 4 to find a Dodge Charger sitting on cement blocks, according to a department report. Apparently, at some point during the night, all four tires were stolen from the vehicle. The employee pointed out to police that a hole in the fence had several lug nuts near it, and it is believed that the culprits made off with the tires through the broken fence. The dealership estimated the loss to be $500.
Too much trash
A garbage truck traveling west along Madison was stopped by authorities June 6 when an officer suspected the truck might be carrying too heavy a load. The driver of the truck said he was heading to Melrose Park with a load of restaurant waste and believed the vehicle was very near its capacity.
Using a portable scale, police weighed the truck and found it to be 3,700 pounds over its limit. A fine of $300 was issued.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between June 1 and June 7, 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
