Police were summoned after a man rushed out of the exit doors without paying at Kmart (1300 Desplaines Ave.) pushing a cart loaded with a 32-inch Sony LCD HD TV, two stereos and two Wii Fit Plus game consoles at 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 4. Police spotted the blue Chevy Blazer getaway car fleeing northbound on the 800 block of Harlem Avenue and curbed the vehicle with the help of the Oak Park police. Kmart door greeters identified Antwain Rogers, 29, of Chicago as the thief. Rogers allegedly had a glass crack pipe with a copper filter in his possession.
Rogers allegedly told police that the driver and owner of the Blazer offered him free crack and heroin if he would steal merchandise from Kmart. He said the driver had sold him a bag each of crack and heroin earlier that morning at Madison and Keeler streets in Chicago. The driver, Robert Cirton, 20, of Berwyn, allegedly said Rogers had offered him $20 at a gas station to drive him to Kmart. Rogers was charged with felony retail theft and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. Cirton was charged with traffic violations.
Good Samaritan takes car keys
A customer at 7-11 snatched the keys from a parked brown Ford F150XLT pickup in the parking lot at 7749 Roosevelt Rd. after observing the driver exit the truck, almost fall to the ground and stagger into the shop at 7:35 p.m. on Jan. 6. Police had been called after the pickup was observed swerving in and out of lanes going westbound and had been seen almost hitting another vehicle.
When police arrived, the customer gave the officer the keys, and the officer allegedly observed pickup owner George D. Giese, 33, of Glendale Heights slumped in the driver’s seat eating potato chips. A search of the truck revealed an open bottle of E&J brandy in the center of the passenger compartment. Geise reportedly had trouble standing and made random comments like “watch out” and “I have a gun.” He was taken to the station and charged with DUI. He blew a breathalyzer test of 0.229 blood alcohol content (almost three times the legal limit of 0.08). Giese was charged with DUI, transporting an open alcohol container and operating an uninsured vehicle.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department and represent 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 Jean Lotus
