While a man helped his wife search for the grave of a deceased relative inside Concordia Cemetery, he was robbed at gunpoint, according to a police department report. No one was injured in the confrontation and the suspect made off with only $2.
The incident occurred shortly before noon on Aug. 23 when the couple parked their car and began searching through section 9 of the cemetery. Both victims told police they noticed a man walking along the pathway near where they had parked the car. They then separated to quicken the search for the woman’s great-grandmother when the husband was confronted by the stranger wandering the paths.
The husband, whose name was not released by authorities, asked the man if he worked at the cemetery. The man said no, mumbled something and then began to walk away, according to the department report. Suddenly, the stranger turned around and from about five feet away, pulled out a black semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at the husband. He made a demand for money and a cell phone, to which the husband handed over $2 and said he did not carry a phone.
The suspect ran south toward the Des Plaines River and was not found by police.
911 caller had a question
After being told only 20 minutes earlier that he was not to hassle employees at the Chicago Transit Authority station on Desplaines Avenue, Terrence Lindsey was again talking to police – only this time, he was the one who called.
According to a department report, Lindsey, 41, was cursing at train passengers and employees at about 1 a.m. on Aug. 23. Police came to the scene, but no arrest was made because a CTA employee agreed not to press charges if Lindsey would leave the station. Then, police received a 911 call that sent them back to the station only 20 minutes later.
“Upon arrival, Lindsey yelled to me that he was the one who called,” police said in their report. “Lindsey related the he called because he demands to know why he can’t ride the train.”
Lindsey, a Maywood resident, was arrested for disorderly conduct and trespassing.
Hint: It’s the guy with the basket
A 31-year-old Chicago man accused of stealing more than $200 worth of medication from Kmart made it easy for authorities to identify him, according to a department report. Kenneth Watkins was still carrying a red shopping basket from the store when officers spotted him running down the street.
The alleged theft occurred just after 5 p.m. Aug. 20 and two security employees nearly succeeded in apprehending Watkins. When the security team chased Watkins through the parking lot, the suspect tripped and one of the employees was able to grab him. However, Watkins allegedly threw a punch – that missed – at the man’s head and broke away.
Just at that moment, police arrived in response to a call about the theft, and the security employees pointed north at Lathrop Avenue.
“Watkins, who was still carrying the red Kmart hand basket, was stopped and detained at Lathrop and Fillmore,” police said in their report.
A total of 18 boxes of Prilosec were recovered from the basket, totaling some $238 in retail value. Watkins was charged with a single count of felony theft.
‘Vagrant’ cited for intoxication
John McDonald, “a well known vagrant in Forest Park,” was issued a ticket Aug. 23 for public intoxication after police responded to the area of the Chicago Transit Authority station on Desplaines Avenue. They were called to the site for a report that McDonald may have tossed a bicycle onto the train tracks.
When officers arrived at the scene just before 3:30 p.m., they found McDonald, 54, walking along a fence and waving his arms in the air. Initially, McDonald denied knowing anything about a bike being tossed over the fence, but when police asked about the pink two-wheeler on the gravel bed near the tracks, McDonald allegedly said a “Mexican” threw it there. It was during this exchange that officers noted the smell of alcohol and observed the man’s eyes to be bloodshot and his words slurred, according to the report.
A witness to the conversation was called upon by the officer to offer any information he might have, and the man reportedly said that yes, “John threw that bike over the wall.” McDonald, a North Riverside resident, later said he had an argument with a man who wanted the bike, and during a brief struggle it was tossed over the fence.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Aug. 16 and Aug. 23, 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
