Thirty-six-year-old Elgin resident Rolando Stewart was slapped with a felony after being charged with aggravated driving with a revoked license on the afternoon of May 27.
An officer initially stopped Stewart for a traffic violation after Stewart made an abrupt U-turn on Jackson Boulevard near Circle Avenue and then eventually pulled over in Thornton’s gas station at 601 N. Harlem Ave.
When the officer made contact with Stewart – who had exited the vehicle at that point – Stewart told him that he was only looking for an address, in an attempt to explain his driving.
Stewart then took off on foot, at which point the officer unsuccessfully deployed his Taser. A chase ensued and Stewart was apprehended in a gangway on the 700 block of Maple Avenue, where he was arrested.
At the police station, Stewart apologized to authorities for fleeing; however, he explained that he had three arrest warrants issued from the South Kane County Police Department, Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department, and the Illinois Department of Corrections, respectively – which is why he ran, he said. Furthermore, a computer check of Stewart’s name revealed that his license had been revoked several times for DUI.
In addition to the felony, Stewart charged for reckless conduct, resisting arrest, having the in-state warrants and failure to signal.
More in-state warrants
An Oak Park man was turned over to the Cook County Fugitive Warrant office after police discovered he had an in-state warrant for a parole violation. On the night of May 26, a vehicle driven by 33-year-old Faraji Banks was stopped on the 7400 block of Madison Street when Banks was observed not wearing his seatbelt. An identity check revealed the in-state warrant and Banks was placed under arrest.
On the night of May 26, Maywood resident Robert Collins, 20, walked into the Forest Park police station to turn himself in for two outstanding warrants. One of the warrants was from Champaign County for battery and the other was issued by Cook County for a probation violation.
Possession of drugs
A vehicle driven by Lake in the Hills, Ill., resident Jaclyn Walter was curbed on Harlem Avenue near the Harvard Street intersection after it was initially spotted by police idling in a Walgreens parking lot on 7200 Roosevelt Road.
Police claim the location is an area for drug activity, and an officer decided to pursue Walters’ vehicle when she left the lot upon viewing the squad car. Once Walters was halted, police allege her behavior was visibly nervous, and a report indicates that she made “furtive” movements inside the vehicle while speaking with an officer. Those “furtive” movements were an attempt to conceal seven grams of heroin – a street value of $100. Walters was arrested at the scene and charged with possessing a controlled substance.
DUI
Responding to an anonymous phone call implicating an alleged drunk driver, police located a vehicle driven by 46-year-old Miguel Velazquez at 711 DesPlaines Ave. on the night of May 25. The vehicle matched the caller’s description and Velazquez was curbed on DesPlaines after an officer observed him commit several traffic violations.
When contact was made with Velazquez, police claim he appeared intoxicated, so he was asked to perform field sobriety tests. After failing the tests, he was taken into custody and transported to headquarters where he was administered a Breathalyzer test and registered a 0.184 blood alcohol content level. The legal limit is 0.08. Velazquez received charges for DUI, traffic signal violations and improper lane usage.
These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between May 23 and May 29, 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
