Police arrested Kenneth Bailey, 45, of Lyons, the night of Aug. 23, after he allegedly tried to steal a DVD player from the local Walmart. Following his arrest, he was slapped with felony retail theft due to prior convictions for the offense.

According to police, Bailey went to the electronics sections of the 1300 Desplaines Ave. store where he unpackaged a DVD player and took the device to a line by the customer service area. He waited a moment and then walked out of the store with the device in his arms, store security told police.

Bailey was quickly detained by a security guard, and police were called to the scene. He was then taken to headquarters where he was processed for the aforementioned felony charge and for two warrants.

The police report states that Bailey was wanted by North Riverside police for shoplifting, and by the state of Ohio for an unlisted offense. The latter was a no-bond warrant. He is currently being held at Cook County Jail on $7,500 bail. 

 

Texting driver flees police

A man who was believed to be texting while driving attempted to elude police after an officer stopped him on the 2000 block of Desplaines Avenue, early Aug. 22.

The officer curbed 37-year-old Charlie Harris, of Riverside, but as the officer approached the car, Harris took off down Desplaines Avenue. He reportedly committed a number of traffic violations before he eventually stopped the car on Maplewood Street and Woodside Road, in Riverside.

At this point, Harris fled on foot. An officer chased after him and managed to stop the suspect, but Harris continued to resist the officer’s attempt to apprehend him, the report reads.

As a result, Harris, who continued to resist as the officer was attempting to handcuff him, was shocked with a Taser twice.

After the second Taser cycle, police managed to handcuff Harris and then transport him to the station.

He was processed for a number of offenses, among them resisting a peace officer, driving with a revoked license (the result of past DUI convictions; police also found a can of Steel Reserve malt liquor in his car), attempting to flee an officer, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, improper lane usage, driving too fast for conditions, failure to yield at a stop sign, a vehicle code violation, and four traffic signal violations.

Drunk and licenseless

A local man was arrested, early Aug. 28, after being pulled over on the 7200 block of Jackson Boulevard and failing field sobriety tests.

Fifty-three-year-old Curtis McCottry, of Forest Park, stopped because his car was swerving in and out of lanes, a police report stated. When McCottry was stopped, he got out of the car and approached the officer, who reportedly met him halfway.

The officer reported that McCottry did not have a license, but instead produced an Illinois ID with a Chicago address. He said the address was his mother’s and added that he has been living in Forest Park for seven years.

According to the report, McCottry smelled of alcohol, so the officer asked him to take field sobriety tests. He agreed, but failed all of them. 

McCottry was then arrested, at which point police claim he became combative and verbally abusive throughout his time in custody.

At the station, McCottry reportedly insisted on taking a Breathalyzer test to prove he was not intoxicated. After the test was administered, it was determined that his blood-alcohol-concentration level was .175, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

He was subsequently charged with two counts of DUI and also booked for equipment violations, moving violations, improper lane usage and not having a driver’s license.

 

Traffic stop leads to arrest

Arnold Holder, 39, of Maywood was arrested, early Aug. 28, after police pulled him over for a traffic violation and then discovered his license was suspended.

Holder was stopped for disobeying a turn signal at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and I-290. When an officer ran his name through a police database, it was revealed that Holder’s license is suspended for DUI.

He was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and a traffic signal violation. 

n These items were obtained from records filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Aug. 22-28, and represent only a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anyone named in the report has only been charged with a crime.

-Compiled by Nick Moroni