A 36-year-old Chicago man who had abandoned his car to lead a brief foot chase was tackled by police during the early morning hours of Aug. 28. The suspect, Scott Konen, had allegedly driven his car in the wrong direction on two one-way streets.
According to a department report, Konen turned east into the west-bound lane of Jackson, which is partially closed due to construction. When the officer signaled for the man to pull over, Konen then turned north onto Marengo, which is south bound. With his car stopped, Konen allegedly sprang from the driver’s seat and ran for the sidewalk, then returned to the middle of the street.
The officer displayed his Taser and ordered Konen to stop running, which the suspect did not, according to police. He was stunned with the Taser and took a wild swing at the officer. In the rainy conditions, both men fell to the ground and received minor scrapes to their hands.
Once in custody, Konen allegedly refused to submit to any sobriety tests. A records check revealed Konen’s license was revoked. He was charged with driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license, resisting arrest, improper lane usage and operating an uninsured vehicle.
Repeat offender blames pregnant girlfriend
An Oak Park motorist was stopped Aug. 28 while traveling east along Randolph and crossing Harlem, because his front windows were tinted, according to a department report. The driver, 40-year-old Bernard Gills, handed over identification that was not a driver’s license, and said he was taking his pregnant girlfriend to the hospital.
The officer asked the woman if she needed an ambulance, to which she allegedly replied “she only needed some air.” A check of Gills’ driving history revealed his license was suspended and he was taken into custody.
While at the station, Gills blamed his girlfriend for his arrest, telling police that he was only driving because she needed medical care. Police, however, learned the man’s license was revoked in 1988 for driving under the influence, and has collected three convictions for driving on a suspended license. He was charged with a felony.
Stolen wallet precedes spending spree
A clerk working at a Madison Street shoe store told police her wallet was stolen by two women who came into the store, one of whom may have been faking a pregnancy.
The Aug. 27 police report does not make clear when the alleged theft occurred, but a debit card in the clerk’s wallet had been used on Aug. 26 and 27. According to the report, the clerk told police that a woman in her 50s and a woman in her 20s came into the store and the younger of the two asked to use the bathroom located in the rear of storefront. The younger woman may have been pregnant, according to the clerk, but “might have used some type of padding to fake her pregnancy.” The route to the bathroom would have brought the woman past an office, which was not locked.
The woman’s debit card was apparently used to purchase $650 worth of merchandise from several stores in Hillside, Maywood and Carmi.
Partygoers cited for alcohol in vehicle
Three men were ticketed for having an open bottle of liquor in their car Aug. 29, but their interaction with the police was overly “hostile,” according to a department report.
The incident occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. near Tonik on the corner of Marengo and Roosevelt. Police noticed their car was stopped in a no-parking zone, but then moved to an area with angled parking spaces and pulled in so that the vehicle straddled three spaces. When the officer approached the car, he saw a plastic cup in the console and immediately asked the driver, Gregory Strong, who the alcohol belonged to. Strong allegedly said the booze was not his.
On the passenger side of the car, an open bottle of Remy Martin was spotted.
Police asked Strong and his two passengers to get out of the car, and the men obliged but protested they had done nothing wrong. Strong insisted he was not parking his vehicle illegally, but was trying to determine if they had arrived at the correct location for a birthday party. According to the department report, the men’s language quickly escalated and they began yelling profanities and insults at the police.
No arrests were made, but Strong, 28, Rickey Ware, 30, and Carlos Sudduth, 32, were each cited for the open container of alcohol.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Aug. 23 and Aug. 30, 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
