Shortly after 1 p.m. on Aug. 8, police in Forest Park and Oak Park were called to Thornton’s gas station on Harlem for a report of a robbery in progress. When authorities arrived, the suspect had already left the area, but a cashier at the gas station provided investigators with an account of the ordeal along with surveillance camera footage.
According to a department report, the suspect brought a lemonade to the counter and paid for it, but then demanded the money in the register. A weapon was not displayed, but the cashier told police that the man kept his hand under his shirt to imply as much.
After collecting about $600 in cash, the man ran out of the store and headed north. No arrest had been made at the time the report was filed.
Repetition leads to felonies
A man with five prior convictions for driving on a suspended license was again taken into custody for getting behind the wheel without a valid license, according to police.
Benjamin Zamudio, 49, of Chicago, rolled through a stop sign at the junction of Harvard and Thomas, according to police, at about 4:15 p.m. on Aug. 3. An officer who witnessed the alleged infraction checked the vehicle’s registration and learned the driver had a history of driving under suspension.
Zamudio allegedly told police he knew his license had been revoked, but a friend was unable to take him to work that day. He was charged with a felony and the vehicle was towed.
On Aug. 6, in an unrelated incident, another driver was charged with a felony count of driving on a suspended license.
Randolph Lewis, 28, of Chicago, caught the attention of police when they noticed the lock on his trunk was missing, which can be indicative of a stolen vehicle, according to a department report. After running the vehicle’s registration, police learned the driver of the car had a suspended license. Lewis has a previous conviction for driving when his privileges have already been revoked.
CTA guard accosted by kisser
A security guard working at the Chicago Transit Authority station at 701 S. Harlem called police Aug. 7 when a man to whom she allowed a free ride allegedly grabbed her and tried to kiss her.
According to a department report, police arrived at the station to find the woman had locked herself in a teller’s booth with 29-year-old Charles Perry lingering just outside. Police quickly took Perry into custody and then spoke with the female guard. She allegedly told police she had agreed to let Perry onto the train for free, but when she exited her booth and walked to the gate to let him pass, Perry grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into him. The guard said she was able to break free, ran back into the booth and then called police.
Perry was charged with battery and given a September court date.
Urban manure
A man with whom police have had “many, many prior contacts” was cited for littering Aug. 3 after allegedly tossing a plastic bag containing feces onto the ground near a garbage can on the 600 block of Desplaines Avenue. Theran Glover, 48, of Maywood, argued that the feces were in fact “manure,” and belonged on the ground. The officer reported that he also watched Glover throw several papers onto the ground, but that Glover placed a plastic container in the bin.
In his report, the officer described a back-and-forth with Glover over whether the waste could be considered a fertilizer.
“Glover and I agreed to disagree and I issued him a local ordinance citation for littering,” the officer said in his report.
Teen caught with marijuana
A 19-year-old Oak Park resident was ticketed for carrying a small amount of marijuana in his pocket after police were alerted by a woman who claimed to have seen the suspect rolling the drug into a cigarette.
According to a department report, a patrolling officer was driving near the small park at Circle and Randolph in the late morning of Aug. 6 when a woman flagged him down. She reportedly told the officer she had just watched Paul Barnes roll the marijuana cigarette before walking north along Circle.
The officer approached Barnes, who shoved his hand into his pocket, and asked whether he was carrying anything he shouldn’t be.
“Barnes appeared to be thinking about his answer and I pointed to his right front pants pocket,” the officer said in his report. Grudgingly, the teen produced the item and handed it over.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Aug. 3 and Aug. 9, 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
