Two Chicago residents were accused of stealing 19 cans of infant formula from a CVS Pharmacy at 7216 Circle Ave. which they allegedly intended to sell or barter for drugs.
On the evening of April 23, a CVS employee, watching a surveillance video, reportedly viewed 33-year-old Brent White and 23-year old Rhonda Bolden working in conjunction to steal the formula.
The employee told police he viewed White open a partially locked display case from the unlocked side and shift several bottles of infant formula towards the open side, so it was easy to reach.
Afterward, White walked towards the register and spoke with the cashier – possibly to provide a screen for Bolden, who initially placed 19 bottles in a shopping basket, but soon thereafter dumped the baby formula into a black bag.
Bolden then exited the store without paying and White followed shortly after. The CVS employee immediately called police and relayed the information.
Bolden and White were arrested, the merchandise was returned, and the duo was taken to police headquarters.
At the station, both Bolden and White informed officers that they had heroin addictions and had planned to market the formula – a retail value of $144.41 – on the “West Side” and that the proceeds would go towards drugs.
A computer check of their respective criminal records informed police that this incident was not the first brush with the law that either offender had. White had 11 previous theft convictions and Bolden, nine. Consequently, both were charged with felony retail theft.
Man says he drives on a revoked license to ‘support his family’
A Cicero man driving with a revoked driver’s license told police that he drives to work in Elmhurst everyday to “support his family of three kids” and to pay his mortgage, after authorities arrested him on the afternoon of May 17 for the above offense.
Forty-one-year-old Elfego Morales-Sanchez was pulled over on 8200 block of Roosevelt Rd. on the afternoon of May 17 when police observed his vehicle did not have a front license plate.
A computer check of his driver’s license revealed he was driving on a revoked license – a charge he had received due to a DUI conviction. Morales-Sanchez’s record also stated he had previously been convicted of driving with a revoked license. The driver also did not have valid insurance for the vehicle.
He was arrested and told police that he was aware of the status of his license, but that he needed to go to work everyday.
Because of his driving record, an Illinois Assistant State’s Attorney approved felony charges for driving with a revoked license. In addition, Morales-Sanchez was also charged with operating an uninsured motor vehicle and with an equipment violation for not having a front license plate.
Man slapped with DUI after a night out in ‘Illinois’
On the evening of May 21, police arrested an Indian Head Park man for DUI after being dispatched to a call of reckless driving that the caller said began on the Harlem Ave.–Interstate 290 ramp and continued southbound on Harlem.
When the responding officer finally located the vehicle that matched the caller’s description on Elgin Avenue near the Harvard Street intersection, she claimed the car was turned on, but halted, facing north (Elgin is a one-way southbound street) and the driver, 59-year-old Robert Drummond, was slumped over the steering wheel with his eyes closed.
Drummond was supposedly unable to communicate and complete the most basic of tasks such as putting the car in park (which he was finally able to do after several attempts and after initially confessing that “he did not know what to do”).
Despite the officer detecting a strong scent of alcohol, Drummond denied having had anything to drink and told her that he was just coming back from a night in “Illinois.”
After providing authorities with his license, and an expired insurance card, Drummond was asked to perform a series of field sobriety tests – all of which he failed. He was arrested and charged with the aforementioned offense, along with operating an uninsured vehicle and for improper lane usage.
Active arrest warrants
Forest Park police apprehended two Chicago men with active instate arrest warrants near Interstate 290 and Harlem on the night of May 20. A car being driven by 29-year-old Pete Lane was initially curbed for not having a functioning side taillight. When the officer asked for Lane’s identification, the driver said he neither had a license nor had he ever made any attempt to get one. Lane attempted to give the officer a false name, and when a computer check yielded no record of the name, the officer arrested Lane. In the vehicle, there were also four other individuals, and computer checks of their records revealed that one passenger, 53-year-old Gregory Johnson, had an active Will County arrest warrant for failure to appear in court after being charged with driving with a suspended license. Lane informed police of his real identity and said he had a warrant out for his arrest. Authorities also learned that Cook County had issued a no-bond warrant for DUI and of another warrant out of Kane County for an identity theft charge. Johnson was charged on the instate warrant, as was Lane for his two warrants, in addition to charges for driving with a suspended license, two Illinois vehicle code violations for the tail light and for failing to produce any proof of insurance (albeit the car did not belong to him), and obstructing justice.
Thirty-eight-year-old Chicago resident Julian Black was stopped in his vehicle on Harlem Avenue near Interstate 290 on May 17, when police observed the rear passenger’s window of his car was broken out. Black was asked to provide the officer with a driver’s license. He was unable to do so but offered an Illinois identification card instead. A computer check of Black’s name revealed that there was an active Cook County arrest warrant out for Black for contempt of court. As a result, he was arrested and charged with the instate warrant.
Forest Park resident Jermaine Miller, 28, and 28-year-old Leamatthew D.C. Rone, of Hamilton, Ohio, were disciplined by police early May 23 after they were spotted drinking in a vehicle on the 200 block of Marengo St. When an officer approached the vehicle, he reportedly saw an open 12 oz. can of Budweiser standing upright outside the driver’s side door, where Rone was sitting, and another bottle in Rone’s hand. In addition, Miller, the passenger, also had an open 12 oz. can in his hand. The officer ran a computer check and learned that Rone had two active arrest warrants issued out of Vermillion County – in east central Illinois – for failure to appear at a theft arraignment and for failure to appear at a theft trial. As a result, the officer arrested Rone, who was then charged with a local village ordinance violation and with the instate warrant. Miller was written a local ordinance citation but was not taken into custody.
Cannabis control offense
Jonathon Guerrero, 24, of Chicago was arrested and charged with a cannabis control offense after police stopped his vehicle and confiscated 100 grams of marijuana from the trunk. Guerrero was pulled over on the 1500 block of Harlem Ave. on the afternoon of May 18, after police responded to a reckless driving call. When the vehicle was curbed, the officer reported “immediately” smelling marijuana. Guerrero informed the officer that he had smoked cannabis the previous night and that his clothes might have retained an odor. The officer reported that the scent was stronger in the rear of the car, so he asked Guerrero to open the trunk. When Guerrero did so, the marijuana was discovered.
DUI
Police stopped a Chicago man while he was driving on the 7200 block of Roosevelt Rd. early May 19. When an officer approached the car being driven by 35-year-old Sirenzo Strong, the officer claimed Strong seemed intoxicated (his speech was slurred and he smelled like alcohol). The officer checked the status of Strong’s driver’s license and learned that Strong’s driving privileges were currently suspended. Strong was then ordered out of the car – which was a rental – and when he was asked to perform a number of field sobriety tests he failed all of them. A check of the vehicle also revealed a half-consumed 750 ml bottle of Grey Goose vodka and several plastic cups. Strong was arrested and given a Breathalyzer test after vomiting in the station. His blood-alcohol-content level registered a very high .231 – the legal limit is .008 – and he was charged with DUI, failure to signal, driving without lights, transportation of liquor and driving with a suspended license.
Driving with a suspended license
On the morning of May 17, police stopped Tyrone Hill, 40, of Chicago, in his vehicle after he was reportedly observed not wearing his seat belt while driving on the 7400 block of Madison St. The officer ran a check on Hill and learned his license was suspended “for judgment.” Hill also informed him that there was no insurance for the vehicle. The officer also spotted the neck of a bottle, which was later discovered to be an open 22 oz. bottle of Budweiser, sticking out of a brown paper bag on the rear floor. Hill was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license and with 3 counts of violating Illinois vehicle codes.
Treniece Taylor, 20, of Chicago was arrested on the night of May 22 when it was discovered that she was driving on a suspended license. An officer reporting spotting her car parked in a “No Parking Anytime” zone on the 400 block of Harlem Ave. The officer reportedly approached Taylor, who was idling in her car, and asked for her identification and her insurance information. A computer check of her name and record informed the officer of the suspended license, at which point he placed Taylor in custody. She was charged with driving with a suspended license, illegal parking and operating an uninsured vehicle.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between May XX and May XX, 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 Nicholas Moroni
