Late night brawl breaks liquor store window
Police arrived at the scene of a sidewalk brawl and found eight men hitting each other around 2 a.m. on Dec. 27 in front of Forest Park Liquors in the 7400 block of Madison Street. Most of the men fled when police arrived, but two, a 20-year-old Maywood man and a 32-year-old River Forest man were caught by police and arrested. The Maywood man was discovered to have in his pocket a small pipe and a baggie with cannabis. Police observed that during the melee a window on Forest Park Liquors had been smashed. They called a board-up service. Both men were charged with mob action and obstructing a police officer and the Maywood man was additionally charged with unlawful use of a driver’s license and possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia.
U-Haul loses seven catalytic converters
Seven trucks parked at the U-Haul at 7209 Harrison were found to be missing their catalytic converters. The devices had been removed sometime between Dec. 22 and Dec. 26. Thieves managed to remove the car parts and elude detection of several video surveillance cameras. The auto parts were valued at $1,300 each.
Apartment burglarized before tenant could move out
A man in the 900 block of Elgin told police that as he was moving to a new apartment between Dec. 31 – Jan. 1, his 2nd floor apartment was burglarized and ransacked. Removed were several devices, including an iPad, iPod, and DVD players as well as several pieces of jewelry including cufflinks and gold chains and rings.
‘A ride and an iPod’
Forest Park police observed a Honda parked at the gas pump for 10 minutes in the Thornton’s gas station parking lot in the 600 block of S. Harlem around 6 p.m. on Dec. 28. Four adults and a baby were inside the car. Suspecting a drug transaction, the responding officer knocked on the car window and observed the passengers in the car making “furtive movements.” The officer interviewed the passengers and John A. Campagna, 23, from LaGrange was found to have three baggies containing suspected heroin on his person. He told the police he had purchased the drugs in exchange for his iPod from Richard B. Rodgers, 22, of Chicago. Police recovered several baggies of heroin in Rodgers’ sleeve. Rodgers told police he met the female underage driver and Campagna in Maywood and gave them 10 bags of heroin in exchange for “an iPod and a ride to the gas station” so his girlfriend and her baby could meet up with Rodgers’ father to get a ride home. He allegedly told police, “Yes, yes I sold him drugs for a ride and an iPod, but I’m trying to turn my life around. I don’t want to lose my child.” Rodgers and Campagna were charged with drug possession. The underage female driver and the mother and baby were released without charges.
Car burglaries net $2 and dirty laundry
A garage service door in the 1300 block of Circle Ave. was pried open overnight on Dec. 30 and an unlocked 2006 Lincoln Continental was ransacked inside. Loss was $2.
A woman reported to police that person(s) unknown had smashed a passenger side window on her 2007 Ford Escape, parked in the 7200 block of Madison overnight on Dec. 27. Taken from the car was a book bag containing dirty clothes along with an O’Hare airport I.D. card and the car’s insurance card.
Man yelling at himself actually speaking on a phone earpiece
Police received a complaint that a pedestrian was drinking from a bottle of beer and yelling at himself around 7 p.m. on Dec. 28 at the intersection of Beloit and Jackson. When they arrived, the 51-year-old man from Forest Park reportedly immediately attempted to empty the 22 oz. bottle of Colt 45 beer onto the ground. He told officers he was “just drinking out of an empty beer bottle.” He then explained to police that he was not yelling at himself, but at someone else on the phone from his ear piece. He was issued a local ordinance citation for open alcohol and advised to keep his voice down while walking home.
Intoxicated man hurls table in fast food restaurant
Employees at J.J. Fish in the 300 block of S. Harlem told police a man who appeared to be intoxicated entered the restaurant and took a seat around 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 29. When he did not purchase any food, staff told police, they asked him to leave. He responded by standing up and throwing a table over the counter, striking a clerk in the left arm. He then fled the scene running northbound on Harlem. Police viewing the restaurant’s surveillance video recognized Marvin L. Roach, 34, of Riverside from previous contacts. Roach was later observed walking near the Green Line station on Harlem Ave. He approached a squad car and greeted the officer by name. He was informed that he was being sought for the J.J. Fish incident and he needed to come to the station, to which Roach allegedly replied, “Uh-uh.” and “F— no!” Roach fled on foot and managed to evade the officer’s deployed Taser X-26. But he was eventually apprehended and taken into custody. He was charged with battery and resisting arrest.
Early morning Tasering after New Year’s Eve fight
Officers responded to a fight in progress around 3 a.m. in alley behind the 1000 block of Harlem Ave. on Jan. 1. They arrived to find a 26-year-old Chicago man, with a beer bottle sticking out of his back pocket, walking away from the scene. The man was asked if he was in a fight, which he denied. He continued to walk away and was further detained by police, who removed the bottle from his pocket. Police reported he appeared angry, his speech was slurred and he appeared intoxicated. He was told he was under arrest and began to pull his arms away in order to defeat the arrest. Two other men appeared in the alley and began to yell at police demanding to know what was happening. They were told to back off, and complied. As the man struggled, an officer unholstered his Taser X 26 and deployed it. The man then allowed himself to be placed in the squad car. He allegedly apologized to officers and shook hands. A computer check revealed he had an outstanding warrant for trespassing in Will County. He was charged with misdemeanors for obstructing and resisting arrest.
Warrant in Berwyn for alleged drug dealer
Nine Forest Park police officers and a K-9 drug sniffing dog executed a search warrant in the 1800 block of Kenilworth Ave. in Berwyn around 6 a.m. on Jan. 4. and arrested a Berwyn man. Police recovered a glass jar filled with suspected cannabis, three blotter papers, suspected LSD, five plastic bags containing suspect psilocybin mushrooms and white powder suspected as cocaine. The man allegedly told police he only “sells weed to people so I can make some extra cash.” He asserted that the LSD, psychedelic mushrooms and cocaine were left over from a New Year’s Eve party. He was charged with possession and of narcotic substances with intent to deliver.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, Dec. 26- Jan. 4, 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.
