While the traffic signal at the intersection of Madison and Desplaines twice cycled through its light patterns, the driver of a black Volkswagen never moved, causing witnesses and police some concern. When officers pulled alongside the car, they saw that the driver was sound asleep.
Robin Jurczak, 54, momentarily awoke as police approached her idling car at about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 18. But by the time they had positioned a cruiser behind Jurczak, the woman was asleep, again.
“After several knocks on the window … Jurczak awoke, appearing confused and gripped the steering wheel,” police said in their report. “I instructed Jurczak to place the vehicle in park and exit the vehicle, which she did.”
Immediately, police suspected the woman had been drinking. Her eyes were bloodshot and she smelled of alcohol. The woman, a Naperville resident, said she was on her way home after having left the downtown Chicago area. According to police, she had no explanation for why she was at the Forest Park intersection.
Jurczak allegedly failed several field sobriety tests and was taken into custody. Police also noticed she had damaged one side of her car. Jurczak allegedly admitted to having banged into a concrete structure in a parking garage. While at the station, police called Chicago authorities to see if anyone had reported a hit-and-run accident. No such incident was reported, but authorities there did receive a 911 call shortly after midnight in which the caller reported Jurczak’s license plate as a possible drunken driver.
At 3:30 a.m., Jurczak’s blood-alcohol level registered as .121. The legal limit in Illinois is .08. She was charged with driving under the influence.
Circular chase ends with arrest
A driver pulled out of the parking lot of a gas station at 601 Harlem on Dec. 15 without using his turn signal, and police followed the car as it headed west along Jackson. Then, when the silver Infiniti made a left turn and headed south into an alley, police found themselves in a high-speed chase.
Traveling at more than 50 mph through the alley, authorities followed the car as it turned east onto Lehmer and again picked up speed, according to a department report. The driver of the Infiniti then made another left and headed north into an alley between Harlem and Elgin.
The driver, 30-year-old Seneca Moore, of Willowbrook, made a quick right back into the parking lot of the gas station, parked his car and then got out and began walking toward the convenience store. Moore was taken into custody, as was the passenger who had slid into the driver’s seat, according to police.
A 7-year-old girl in the backseat of the car was found crying, and told police she was the daughter of the passenger. The young girl said the men had “something silver in their hands” while fleeing the police, but she didn’t know what they had done with it.
Moore and his passenger, 37-year-old Dwayne Carr, of Chicago, were both charged with endangering the life of a child. Moore was also charged with several traffic violations. The girl was released to her grandmother.
Police seize cash, drugs
A green Chevrolet parked along the side of a gas station at 601 Harlem caught the eye of police Dec. 18, in part because of the volume of drug activity there. Soon enough, a white Pontiac pulled in next to the car and someone got out of the Chevy and into the Pontiac, according to a department report.
Suspicious of a possible drug deal, police pulled their cruiser behind the two parked cars and immediately a young woman emerged from one of the vehicles and began walking away from the scene. She was asked to come back, and she did.
Inside the Pontiac, 19-year-old Brian Biggerstaff, of Aurora, was seated next to 25-year-old Joseph Robinson, of Chicago. Both men appeared nervous and when Biggerstaff rolled down his window, the smell of marijuana was immediately evident, according to police. A subsequent search revealed a bag of marijuana in Robinson’s pants pocket, and in the backseat authorities allegedly found a pipe.
Robinson told police he met Biggerstaff at the gas station so he could purchase the drugs for $400. Biggerstaff initially denied selling any marijuana, police said in their report, but later changed his story and said the deal was for $350 worth. That cash was recovered from his coat pocket.
Both men were charged for their alleged roles in the sale. The woman, a 19-year-old from Chicago, was released without charges.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Dec. 13 and Dec. 20, 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
