Police catch burglars mid-spree
Forest Park police arrested three Chicago men in connection with a spate of burglaries to homes and cars that took place between 8:30 and 9 p.m., Nov. 24. Police had been summoned to the 7600 block of Harrison Street and the 900 blocks of Marengo and Circle avenues to investigate auto burglaries. One victim told police she saw a male exit her car and enter a black Pontiac stopped in the alley.
Police then got a call from a woman who was working in her basement office in the 800 block of Lathrop Avenue who said she heard a loud banging sound and then footsteps above her in the house. She called police and said someone was in the house. Police arrived and noticed the rear kitchen door had been kicked in, damaging the frame. The woman said change and jewelry from her bedroom dresser was missing, as was the wallet from her purse.
Officers patrolling nearby observed two men walking nearby wearing no coats or gloves in 30-degree weather. The younger one, 17, told an officer he was coming from the house of a girl who had kicked him out. He could not name the girl or give the officer an address. The second offender, Rodney A. Martin, 21, was found to have nine rings, two earrings and a broach in his pockets. At that point a black Pontiac stopped in front of the house and the driver honked the horn. Police questioned the driver, Antonio Goode, 19, who gave a conflicting story about his relationship with the two other men. He was arrested in connection with the burglaries as well.
At the police station, the two older suspects gave voluntary statements implicating themselves in four auto burglaries and the house burglary. They also made statements indicating they were involved in an auto burglary in the 800 block of Kenilworth in Oak Park, Nov. 21.The three were charged with felony burglary.
Subway robbed at lunchtime
Employees at Subway, 321 Harlem Ave., told police a man displayed a handgun and reached into the cash register, grabbing a handful of bills and fleeing around 12:28 p.m. Nov. 28. The clerk told police the man first ordered a sandwich, paid and left. He shortly returned and ordered a drink. When the cash register opened, the man allegedly showed the clerk a handgun in his right sleeve and demanded money. He fled with over $100 in mixed denomination bills.
Thanksgiving melee
A female Chicago resident was charged with battery after she shoved an officer as police tried to break up a family fight in the 7300 block of Dixon Street around 9:40 p.m., Nov. 28. Reports said a male relative, 51, was asleep on a couch at a family gathering and woke up intoxicated. When family members asked him to leave, he allegedly began to strike other members of the family, who began to hit him back. When police arrived, he was leaning against a vehicle outside the house with a bleeding lip and torn shirt. Relatives said they did not want to press charges, but a woman in the group walked past an officer and pushed his holstered gun. When told to “stay away from my gun,” she allegedly replied, “You can’t tell me what to do.” She was taken into custody and charged with battery to a police officer.
Doggy daycare breakout
A man who runs a dog-sitting business in the 800 block of Marengo was issued a local citation the afternoon of Nov. 26 after two of his canine charges, a boxer and a “black puffy-style” dog escaped from his yard and were aggressive to a neighbor’s fenced dogs. This is not the first time the dogs have escaped and made trouble, the report said. The pair, which the sitter acknowledged behave aggressively toward other dogs, escaped two months ago through an unlatched back gate. At that time, the “puffy” dog bit a neighbor’s dog on the face. The dog-watcher said while moving an item from his car, he inadvertently left the back gate of the property open. He was issued a citation for an unleashed dog.
‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving
Forest Park police were summoned to Slainte, 7505 Madison St. around 1:30 a.m., Nov. 28, to remove an intoxicated male patron, 27, from Westchester, who bartenders said was stealing other people’s beers from the bar and drinking them. As officers approached, they observed him spilling and pouring the contents of a bottle of beer on other patrons and into the bar. While being questioned, the man reportedly became belligerent and swore at officers. He then allegedly slapped an officer in the face with an open hand. The officer informed him he was under arrest for battery and deployed a Taser toward him. However, the Taser prongs did not make contact, and man fled across Madison Street and northbound on Desplaines Avenue. Officers caught up with the man in a dead end behind 7601 Madison St. He had to be physically restrained to be handcuffed, so an officer “drive-stunned” him with a Taser X26. He was taken to the station and charged with battery to a police officer and resisting arrest.
Police were back at Slainte 40 minutes later that morning to remove an intoxicated 27-year-old Chicago man who was throwing punches at other patrons and employees. The man struck an employee on the side of the head, but the employee declined medical attention. The offender was charged with public intoxication and public fighting and told not to return to Slainte.
A fight at O’Sullivan’s tavern the same night involved a patron from Oak Park was only 20 years old. After being verbally abusive to police, he was issued a local ordinance ticket for underage drinking and public intoxication. He was driven home by friends.
Rosemont man with heroin ‘cooker’
Police observed a vehicle parked in the Thornton’s gas station parking lot too far away for the pump hose to reach, around 2:40 p.m., Nov. 29. When an officer approached the vehicle, two passengers inside told him one was being dropped off at the CTA stop so he could take the train back to Rosemont. The officer noted the driver stared straight ahead while talking and his hands shook while lighting a cigarette. When questioned further, the driver, 26, from Rosemont, admitted he had possession of an Altoids mint tin with a burnt underside used as a “cooker” for heroin. He was cited with a local ordinance ticket for possession of drug equipment.
Cabbie with prior DUI arrested
A man who told police he drove a cab for Blue Cab company but had his license revoked for DUI was arrested around 4 p.m., Nov. 29, in the 900 block of Harlem Avenue. Officers said the man, 47, from Berwyn, was driving a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country, registered to him, without a seatbelt. A name check through LEADS revealed he had a revoked license for a DUI offense. He told police he was working on getting his license back while driving for Blue Cab. He was charged with driving on a suspended/revoked license and seatbelt violations. The Chrysler was seized.
Portillo’s trash fling
A 27-year-old Chicago man was pulled over and given a local ordinance ticket for littering after a Forest Park officer observed him allegedly throw a Portillo’s paper bag from his car window around 2 p.m., Nov. 30, near Harvard Street and Harlem Avenue.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, Nov. 25-30, 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
