An early-morning bar fight at Slainte, 7505 Madison, ended with the arrest of a Chicago woman who is accused of spilling her drink on another woman, then punching the victim to the ground and kicking her repeatedly.
Several witnesses to the alleged altercation corroborated one another’s version of events, but when police spoke to their suspect, 21-year-old Nina Graziano, she said simply that she was extremely drunk and had no memory of such an attack. Graziano was pointed out by the alleged victim when police arrived at the bar, and Graziano immediately responded to police that she didn’t know what they were asking her about. Once outside the bar, her story didn’t change.
“I have no idea,” Graziano allegedly told police. “You know officer, I’m really, really drunk.”
Graziano was taken into custody and while at the station police noticed a cut on the left side of her face and bleeding from underneath a fingernail. She was asked if she needed medical attention, to which Graziano replied, “No, I don’t even know what happened.”
Threats prompt more charges
A man accused of trespassing in a condo building at 7449 Washington was also charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest for allegedly threatening to harm the police officers who took him into custody.
Authorities arrived at the condo building at about 5 p.m. on Jan. 27 after receiving a call that 31-year-old Christopher Brooks was harassing people in an attempt to get inside. Police began asking Brooks to explain himself and instead, Brooks put his hand inside his jacket and began walking away from the officer, according to a department report. Fearing that the man had a weapon, police made an attempt to handcuff him. Brooks then threatened to punch the officer and made an attempt to turn and face him, according to police.
At the station, Brooks refused to get out of the squad car and had to be carried into the building, according to police.
Sobriety test would cause pain
A Palos Park resident was arrested for driving under the influence during the early morning hours of Jan. 27. He had caught the eye of police when his car allegedly sat motionless at an intersection while the traffic signal cycled through its pattern. When the officer turned on his emergency lights and approached the car, its engine suddenly roared to life.
The driver of the car, Gregory Klups, 38, told the officer that the car was stalling, but believed that it would now continue to run. Klups allegedly fumbled with the items in the car when he was asked for his license, and admitted to having had “a couple of beers” at a local bar. The officer described Klups’ speech as slow and deliberate, and outside of the car, reported that Klups smelled of alcohol.
After struggling with a few requests to recite portions of the alphabet and count backwards, Klups allegedly said he could not perform other physical tests because of pain. While in custody for driving under the influence, Klups allegedly refused to take a blood-alcohol test.
Chase suspect arrested
A Chicago woman was pulled from a closet in a West Side home after police tracked her to the address on the suspicion that she was involved in a vehicle chase in late January.
According to a department report on her Jan. 29 arrest, police found 43-year-old Janice Johnson at the home on the 1900 block of S. Sawyer at about 3 p.m. Johnson was wanted for her connection to a Jan. 23 chase, however, the report did not make clear the circumstances of the alleged chase. A gray BMW that police believe was used in the chase was towed from the city address.
Johnson was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Alleged bootlegs were ‘donated’
A suspect arrested for selling bootleg movies to Wal-Mart customers told police that he wasn’t breaking the law, and that he was giving away his stash of DVDs for “donations.”
According to a department report on the incident, police were called to the Roosevelt Road store on Jan. 29 when security personnel there took Frank Adams, 40, of Oak Park into custody. Police allegedly caught Adams with handfuls of movies, several of which were still in theaters. The regional director of the Motion Picture Association of America was contacted, and he agreed to press charges.
Throughout the booking process, Adams allegedly repeated his defense that he was “giving them away for donations.” He was charged with a felony.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Jan. 24 and Jan. 31, 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
