A 24-year-old man was arrested in the Park Plaza parking lot, 7600 Roosevelt Rd., on Feb. 2 at 11:51 a.m. after police saw him sitting in his silver Mercury Grand Marquis allegedly parked in a handicapped stall with a handicapped placard hanging from the rear view mirror. Another man, 31, exited the store with a cart of merchandise and the two drove away. The officer followed the car and curbed it. The placard was registered to the driver’s 84-year-old grandmother and he told the officer he didn’t think it was illegal to use someone else’s placard. It was, however, illegal to drive without ever having been issued a license, which the 24-year-old was doing. The driver was charged with driving without a license or proof of insurance.
Puking in the parking lot
An officer observed a parked 2001 maroon Buick in the parking lot of Mom’s Place at 819 Harlem Ave. at 2:15 a.m. on Feb. 5, long after the restaurant had closed. Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer observed the driver’s side door open and the driver allegedly hanging off the side of the vehicle, vomiting on the ground. The officer observed that the man was covered in vomit from his shirt down to his pants and was still vomiting on the ground next to the vehicle. The driver, a 23-year-old from Chicago failed field sobriety tests. He was taken to the police station and vomited in the back of the squad car. He vomited again when he arrived at the station and again before blowing a breathalyzer test, which registered .117 (twice the legal limit of .08). He was charged with DUI.
Retail theft
Forest Park police responding to a report of retail theft from USA Beverage at 7200 Madison St. on Feb. 3 at 11:06 p.m. allegedly saw a 22-year-old Chicago man running down the 400 block of Elgin into Madison Street carrying a glass bottle. He dropped the bottle between the curb and a vehicle parked on Madison. The bottle was 750 ml of Ciroc coconut vodka worth $31.99, according to USA Beverage employees. Police said the cashier observed him allegedly placing the bottle underneath his jacket and leaving the store. He was charged with a local ordinance ticket.
Police assisted with the arrest of a homeless Chicago male shoplifter, age 40, outside the doors of Kmart at 7630 Roosevelt Rd. around 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 3. The man had placed 20 sticks of deodorant in his hoodie which was tucked inside his pants. The deodorant was stuffed inside the hoodie around his waist area and sleeves. The man told police that he has HIV and had finished the last of his HIV medication that morning. He said he did not have enough money to purchase new medication and stole the deodorant to get money for his meds. Because he had several prior retail theft and burglary convictions, police bumped up charges to felony retail theft.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, Feb. 2- 6 2012, 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
