Money Store yeller at the teller
Police were summoned to the Money Store, 7204 Madison St., around 11:10 a.m., Aug. 8, where they found a 29-year-old Maywood woman yelling profanities toward an employee sitting behind a screen of bulletproof glass. The yeller told police she had been “disrespected” by the employee and wanted to speak to the manager about her attempts to pay a bill. The employee said the manager was unavailable, and the woman replied, “You gotta come out here sometime.” When she was told to leave, she said, “You wait till you get out of work, you racist [etc.],” at which point police arrested her for making threats. At the station, she was equally vocal and expressed the opinion that the police arresting her were racists. She was charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
Just a couple of scrapes
He thought the damage marks made by his 1995 Buick “would just rub off,” a River Forest man told police, as a way to explain why he drove away from Thornton’s Gas Station, 601 Harlem Ave., after scraping a 2006 Nissan in the parking lot. The Nissan’s owner thought otherwise and summoned police, who caught up to the Buick near Central and Thatcher avenues in River Forest. The driver, 31, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with vehicle damage.
Wallet recovered with baggies
Police examining a wallet turned in at the Forest Park Public Library, around 5:57 p.m., Aug. 12, noticed it contained an ID, some cash and two small zip-lock bags containing a green leafy substance. Cops were waiting for the 18-year-old owner from Chicago who came to claim his wallet. When asked what was in the wallet, he said cash and ID cards. When asked about the cannabis, he replied “Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” and put his head down, police reported. He was issued a local ordinance ticket.
Waiting on a friend
A neighbor summoned police to an early-morning call at an apartment building in the 1500 block of Harlem Avenue, around 3 a.m., because she noticed unauthorized cars parking in the lot on a regular basis and had seen women she believed were prostitutes coming and going from the building. Police knocked on the window of a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta and woke up the driver, a 54-year-old Chicago man, who was fumbling with what turned out to be a crack pipe. He confirmed that he had brought a female colleague to the building for “work.” Police waited outside the building until a 33-year-old woman emerged. She was unable to give police a name for her client but told them the unit number. Police were unable to contact the customer. The driver was issued a local ordinance ticket for possession of drug paraphernalia, and he and the woman were told not to return to Forest Park.
Rash of auto burglaries
A series of auto burglaries took place in Forest Park overnight, Aug. 13-14:
A Toyota Avalon parked in the 800 block of Ferdinand Avenue was broken into. Someone rummaged through the glove compartment and took a driver’s license and a $150 Amazon gift card. The owner said the car had a horrible smell, “reminiscent of fecal matter,” that she hadn’t noticed before.
A spare tire was removed from a 2002 Honda CRV parked in the 1200 block of Marengo Avenue. Value was listed at $350.
A garage in the 800 block of Elgin Avenue was entered through an unlocked side service door by someone who ransacked vehicles inside. Thieves attempted to remove a track bicycle but were discouraged by two flat tires and left it nearby. Police advised the homeowners to lock their garage door.
Someone rummaged through an unlocked 1999 Chevy Tahoe, parked overnight in the 1100 block of Hannah Avenue.
In the 800 block of Circle Avenue, owners found that the glove box and center console compartment of their Chevy, parked behind the house, had been ransacked.
A Ford ZX2, parked in the 800 block of Hannah, was found by its owner to have the driver’s side door ajar. The interior was also ransacked.
Other auto crimes
A neighbor on his early-morning walk to McDonald’s observed a possible suspect, an unknown young male, age 16-17, inside the victim’s vehicle. Police canvassing the neighborhood did not find anyone matching the witness’ description.
A 2007 Chrysler Pacifica disappeared overnight from the parking pad behind a house in the 100 block of Dunlop Avenue, Aug. 16. The car contained a red and black Mongoose mountain bike in the back compartment as well as a driver’s license and proof of insurance.
A landscaper working near Randolph and Lathrop told police he left his landscaping trailer open, Aug. 16, as he worked on a job. Around 2:51 p.m., a gold van with no front bumper, possibly a Chrysler, pulled up and an unknown man jumped out, removed a leafblower and fled in the van. Loss was estimated at $500.
Someone rummaged through an unlocked Toyota Camry, parked in the 900 block of Dunlop Avenue during the evening of Aug. 16, and took an undetermined amount of change.
Dodge Caravans targeted
Someone tried to strip the steering column of a Dodge Caravan, parked in the 800 block of Thomas Avenue overnight Aug. 17. They damaged the car, which belonged to a sister of the homeowner. A GPS was also missing.
Someone succeeded in removing a different Dodge Caravan, dark blue, from a parking spot behind a house in the 800 block of Beloit, overnight Aug. 17-18.
A real prize
An old bike with no seat and non-functional brakes, kept unlocked behind a fence in the 1300 block of Circle Avenue, disappeared during the afternoon of Aug. 14. Owners said it was worth $100.
Burglary success and failure
A tenant in the 200 block of Marengo told police that while he was at work between 5 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Aug. 14, someone pried open the front door of his apartment. The unit was in disarray, with couches overturned and drawers removed from the refrigerator. Missing were a 40-inch Samsung flat-screen TV, gold chain, rings, a Movado watch, $10,000 worth of gold and silver coins, and a bottle of Ciroc vodka. The victim said he could provide an itemized list of the missing coins.
A tenant in a building in the 7200 block of Madison Street came home around 5:30 p.m., Aug. 14, and noticed pry marks near the deadbolt on his apartment door and observed the handle was loose. Police said it appeared the burglar did not succeed in gaining entry and nothing was missing.
A woman told police that, while she was at work, someone tried to pry open the door of her apartment in the 7400 block of Dixon Avenue, Aug. 14. Police observed pry marks on the door and wood chips on the floor. Entry was not gained.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, Aug. 11-17, 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
Contact: jean@forestparkreivew
Twitter: @FP_Review
