On New Year’s Eve, police arrested four people in a car packed with heroin and ingredients commonly used to produce methamphetamine.

Forty-year-old Kelly Rhoda, of Crawfordsville, Ind., was initially stopped at First and Bataan for a traffic violation, but police soon found he had in his possession heroin, a cannabis pipe, and other instruments that he reportedly, voluntarily stated were used to “cook” drugs.

Several departments were called to assist in the seizure of three propane tanks and a blowtorch found in Rhoda’s trunk.

Police reported that, in addition to the aforementioned items, they also found 96 tablets of pseudoephedrine and a half-gallon of ammonia in the car. The items are typical ingredients in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, police said.

A small camera bag inside the car contained an unknown amount of heroin, a marijuana pipe, and small baggies in which street drugs are commonly packaged.

All four passengers were arrested, but Rhoda, who police learned had several warrants, took responsibility for the contraband. As a result, the three passengers were released without charges.

According to police, Rhoda had outstanding warrants from several Indiana police departments for burglary and dealing methamphetamine.

Rhoda was slapped with felony charges for illegal transportation of anhydrous ammonia, possession of methamphetamine manufacturing chemicals with the intent to manufacture, and unlawful possession of methamphetamine.

Arrested six days after release from prison

A Forest Park man with a warrant listing him as armed and dangerous was arrested on the morning of Dec. 27. According to a police report, an officer who knew of 38-year-old Jesse Vann’s arrest warrant took him into custody after spotting him on the 1200 block of Harlem. The warrant was issued by the Illinois Dept. of Corrections subsequent to a parole violation. He was released six days prior to the arrest. Vann was charged with the in-state warrant, and is currently incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet.

DUI

Jose Alvarado-Alcala, 40, of Bolingbrook was arrested, early Dec. 31, for DUI
after an officer stopped him for a traffic violation and determined he was intoxicated. Alvarado-Alcala was stopped at 15th and Harlem, and in addition to showing signs of intoxication, was also driving without a valid license. He was taken to headquarters where he submitted to a Breathalyzer test and registered a .255 blood-alcohol-content level, more than three times the legal limit is .08. He was charged with a felony count of DUI because he did not have a valid license. He also received single misdemeanor charges of DUI, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, improper lane usage, revoked registration and a seat belt violation.
 

Two more cars robbed

On Dec. 30, a Tom Tom GPS device was stolen from a black Honda CRV parked on the 300 block of Rockford.

On Jan. 2, a black Coach purse containing the victim’s credit cards and checks was taken from an orange Mitsubishi Eclipse on the 700 block of Roosevelt.

The passenger’s side windows of both cars were smashed. These are the latest in a string of eight thefts from vehicles that occurred in the days before Christmas.

Personal items stolen

Two male suspects in a burgundy minivan approached a local man and offered to remove snow from the front of his home on Dec. 28. When the man agreed to let them use a “machine” to do so, he also allowed one of the suspects inside his home. The suspect entered the home and then left the scene to fetch the “machine,” which neither of the suspects actually had in their possession. When the victim re-entered his home, he found items scattered about and $18,000 in jewelry missing, along with several of his checkbooks.

Burglary

Over $1,000 in personal items were stolen from a Forest Park apartment on the afternoon of Dec. 30, police reported. The victim told authorities that a Dell laptop, a Cannon ZR90 camcorder and battery pack, gold and diamond rings, and a “Joe Joe” golden watch were taken from the apartment. The estimated value of all the items is approximately $1,150.

These items were taken from the records of the Forest Park Police Department between Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, 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 Nick Moroni