Cabbies battle over line-jumping
Forest Park police were summoned to the CTA Blue Line terminal at 711 Desplaines Ave. around 7 a.m., March 25, after a cab driver allegedly punched another cabbie “three or four times in the face” for cutting in the cab line and “stealing fares.” A third cabbie reportedly corroborated the story. The driver was charged with one count of battery.
Failing to stop
A 37-year-old Chicago man driving a 2013 Hyundai was stopped by Forest Park police for failing to yield to two pedestrians crossing Madison Street in designated crosswalks around 11 a.m., March 25. He was issued a citation.
Alleged PCP smoking driver curbed
Forest Park police officers responded to a call about an unknown man attempting to enter various vehicles parked near the intersection of Lathrop Avenue and Brown Street around 8:30 p.m., March 25. When officers arrived, they observed a 2000 Ford Explorer driving slowly westbound on Brown Street, partially in the parking lane. The Ford turned without the driver signaling. Police curbed the car and found a 27-year-old Forest Park man behind the wheel. He was described as having glassy eyes and barely able to speak. He reportedly told police he had smoked PCP acquired from “a guy in the city.” Police transported him to the hospital, and then to the station, where he was charged with possession of a controlled substance and DUI.
Rebuff, return, removal
Police were summoned to the Harlem Avenue Green Line CTA station after a female security employee said a male intoxicated passenger was bothering her around 3:20 a.m., March 27. The 33-year-old Chicago man allegedly told her repeatedly, “I want to get with you.” She told police his repeated requests made her uncomfortable. Police told him to scram and advised him not to return. He left without incident but returned shortly thereafter, paid his fare and called the guard a “black b—-.” Police found him on the platform and arrested him, charging him with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
Auto burglary
Someone broke into a Hyundai Elantra, parked overnight, March 26-27, in the 100 block of Desplaines Avenue, by smashing the front driver’s side window. A wallet was removed, the center console ransacked, and about $3 in change was taken.
A woman told police her purse was removed from her car parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot, 1300 Desplaines Ave., around 2 p.m., March 29.
Monitoring device fails
Police removed an intoxicated 23-year-old Berwyn man from the CTA Blue Line terminus around 1 a.m., March 27, after customers complained he was removing his clothes and instigating a fight. The man, who appeared disoriented, told police he had nowhere to stay and asked for a ride to a friend’s house in Berwyn. During a safety pat-down, police discovered he had an electronic monitoring device on his left ankle. He explained that he was under house arrest and had left a halfway house after an unspecified dispute. He was supposed to have contacted his parole agent to have the ankle device removed. After police contacted the Cook County Sheriff, he was released from the station without charge and transported to Grace Episcopal Church (the location of the nightly PADS shelter).
The same man walked into the Forest Park Public Library and requested a scissors from the front desk around noon, March 27. Library personnel said he leaned over and cut something below the level of the counter, returned the scissors and left. Police found an electronic monitoring bracelet in the grass outside the library. They were unable to determine the law enforcement agency that issued the bracelet. The man allegedly returned to the library an hour later and was flailing his arms at passersby. He was recognized and arrested on an outstanding warrant from the Illinois Dept. of Corrections.
Stolen Saturn recovered
Police, using a license plate reader, recovered a 2008 silver Saturn parked in the 800 block of Dunlop Avenue that had been reported stolen from Dolton on March 11. The vehicle was towed and the owner contacted.
Arrested for allegedly pocketing stoner movie
A 19-year-old Brookfield man, identified as a student, was observed stuffing merchandise into his pockets at the Wal-Mart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., around 2:15 p.m., March 29. Security detained him at the store and he reportedly admitted removing a Harold & Kumar DVD and a Killers CD from the shelf and attempting to walk out without paying. The value of the items was $21.84.
“I took the items and I made a stupid decision,” the man reportedly told police. He was issued a local ordinance ticket for retail theft.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, March 18-29, 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
