Boxer-clad man fled from shooters
A 39-year-old Forest Park man, found hiding in a garage wearing only boxer shorts in the 400 block of Marengo Avenue around 11:40 a.m., June 27, told police he was fleeing two men he thought were going to shoot him. The owner of the garage heard a bang like the door had broken open and summoned police, believing a burglary was taking place. Inside, police found the man wearing only boxer shorts and no shirt. His pants were recovered in the garage. The man told police he had been at the scene of a homicide in the 100 block of North Leamington Avenue in Chicago the previous night and believed he was the intended target of the killing. He said while in Forest Park the next day, he was walking along Harlem Avenue near Madison Street when two men exited a gray car and began chasing him on foot. He said he ran down the alley and kicked open the door to the garage to hide. He said he had no intention of stealing anything and wanted to hide in the garage because he feared for his life.
Forest Park police charged him with trespassing and contacted Chicago Police Violent Crime Department officers to interview him.
Conduct unbecoming a pedestrian
Police observed a 47-year-old Berwyn man dart into the street at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Roosevelt Road around 3:30 p.m., June 23. As traffic braked and swerved to avoid the stumbling pedestrian, police said he reached into the open windows of vehicles stopped at the traffic light and grabbed passengers. Police took him into custody, noting his bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and stumbling balance. He was charged with one count of reckless conduct.
Pounding music draws attention
A 58-year-old Chicago man driving a 2001 Pontiac Bonneville was curbed at Jackson Boulevard and Marengo Avenue around 5:45 p.m., June 23. A booming radio, audible from more than 50 feet away, drew the attention of the officer, who quickly determined the driver’s license was suspended and he had no proof of insurance. He was charged with driving while suspended and operating an uninsured vehicle.
Gloved man nabbed
A resident of the 500 block of Elgin summoned police around 9:40 p.m., June 23, after he observed an unknown man crouching behind his garage wearing a single glove on his left hand and trying to force open the garage door. The victim warned he would call police, and when they arrived, the victim and the 27-year-old Maywood man were chatting. The gloved man told police he was fleeing from a group chasing him on Madison Street, after being dropped off by his boss at the McDonald’s on Desplaines. He explained he jumped into the backyard to escape. The story did not convince officers, who charged him with one count each of burglary and trespassing.
Blind victim burglarized
A visually impaired resident of an apartment building in the 7200 block of Jackson Blvd. told police he woke up to find his work-issued Dell laptop missing from his kitchen table where he had left it the night of June 25. Police, responding to the scene, noted that a kitchen window, accessible from the rear porch, was open with the outer screen partially askew. Police also noted a red kitchen tablecloth crumpled on the floor. The victim discovered his personal laptop was also missing. No estimated loss amount was provided.
Lewd comments to ladies
Two women riding the Blue Line told police a 24-year old Berwyn man sat down next to one and then the other in an almost empty train car around 9:40 a.m., June 27, and began to make lewd remarks that frightened them.
The first woman, age 56, said the man asked her how long it had been since she had sex. He then commented that he “had not had sex for a very long time.” She rebuffed him, but he continued with sexually explicit remarks until he moved to sit next to another woman, age 41 and began to badger her in a similar way. The conductor alerted CTA personnel that passengers were being harassed, and Forest Park cops showed up on the platform, where the offender was identified as he tried to slink away. Police took him into custody and charged him with two counts of disorderly conduct.
Heroin recovered from driver at Thornton’s
Police observed a man leaning forward in a parked Chevy Trailblazer at Thornton’s, 601 Harlem Ave., around 9:30 p.m., June 27, and investigated the vehicle. In plain sight, officers observed baggies of an off-white powdery substance that resembled heroin. They arrested the 28-year-old Bloomingdale man for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.
Asleep at the green light
Officers around 6:20 p.m., June 29, observed the driver of a green Cadillac
DeVille, traveling southbound in the 100 block of Harlem, who swerved between lanes erratically and then stopped at a light and appeared to pass out. The driver slumped at the wheel with his foot on the brake and the car in drive. Officers woke up Juan Santana, 26, of Cicero, who could not produce a valid driver’s license and had glassy, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Santana was taken to the station, where he blew a 0.149 blood alcohol content level on the Breathalyzer, almost twice the legal limit. He was charged with DUI.
Burglary to auto/bikes
A 2005 Lexus, parked behind the 800 block of Circle Avenue, was burglarized by persons unknown who removed a $200 cellphone, an electronic golf caddie navigator worth $200, and miscellaneous change, overnight June 23.
A 1998 Lexus, parked in the 300 block of Circle Avenue overnight June 24-25, was ransacked and a $100 Bloomingdale gift card was removed. The vehicle was moved 5 feet from where it had been parked, the victim said.
A woman told police she parked her 2005 Ford in the 7700 block of Harvard, around 6:20 p.m., with the windows rolled down and left her purse on the seat of the unlocked car. An hour later, she said she attempted to pay for something at a store and found her wallet missing from the purse. Inside the wallet were credit cards, ID and a social security card.
A locked child’s BMX black Mongoose bicycle was stolen from the bike racks at the Forest Park pool between noon and 3:30 p.m., June 27.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, June 21-29, 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
