Laundry room squabble turns physical
A dispute over available washing machines led to a fight in the laundry room of a building in the 1000 block of Desplaines Avenue. The victim said a cleaning lady who was working for a resident came to the laundry room and observed that all four washing machines were in use. An argument broke out and the woman “body-checked” the resident into one of the machines in an attempt to prevent her from loading her clothes into it. A witness in the laundry room corroborated the story. The cleaning woman, age 34 from Chicago, was issued a local ordinance citation for battery.
Burglar waits too long
A Kmart assistant manager, arriving at work at 5:54 a.m., Sept. 29, observed a bald man wearing a black nylon jacket with a disheveled appearance in the back of the store. The man was pushing a cart bearing four big-screen televisions. When asked who he was, the offender gave a phony name and claimed he was an employee. The manager knew this not to be the case, and the man bolted toward the front of the store. Officers arrived as the front door alarms sounded but were unable to find the man, who did not appear to have taken anything. Another alarm sounded inside the Living Word Center offices, which share a doorway with Kmart. No offender was found.
Public boozing
A 23-year-old Oak Park man was arrested and issued a local ordinance citation for drinking from a bottle of Beck’s beer in public while seated on a bench at the Green Line station, 1 S. Harlem Ave., around 4 p.m., Sept. 29.
Police stopped a 32-year-old Forest Park man on the street in the 900 block of Ferdinand around 5:30 p.m., Oct. 1, who appeared intoxicated and was drinking from an open 40 oz. bottle of Cobra beer. He was issued local ordinance tickets for public intoxication and escorted to the CTA Blue Line station where he paid his fare to board a train.
Police issued a local ordinance citation for public drinking to a 21-year-old Chicago man observed downing an open bottle of beer around 1:49 a.m., Oct. 3, near the intersection of Beloit Avenue and Madison Street.
Traffic arrests
An officer recognized a red 2000 Mercury Cougar, parked in the 8200 block of Roosevelt Road around 10:30 a.m., Sept. 30, as a car he had pulled over before for lack of proper license plate. The driver had attached a false Indiana temporary registration plate to the rear license-plate holder, covered with tape. The driver, a 26-year-old Forest Park woman, told the officer “I know I’m wrong.” Investigation revealed her to have a suspended license as well. She was issued a ticket for license suspension, no valid registration, no valid insurance, and improper use of registration. The Cougar was seized and held under an administrative tow.
Officers observed a 2008 Honda Odyssey turning out of the Mom’s Restaurant parking lot at 819 S. Harlem Avenue without using a turn signal around 5:35 p.m. Sept. 30. The male driver, 36, from Maywood, was found to be lacking a driver’s license, which had been revoked. He was also found to have a small clear plastic baggie in his pocket containing one gram of a white powdery substance that tested positive for crack cocaine. He told police the pants he was wearing were his cousin’s. He chose not to speak anymore to police, who charged him with driving violations and possession of a controlled substance.
A man who told police he had just purchased a new car and put his son’s license plates on it was found to have a revoked license for leaving the scene of an accident causing a death. Police pulled over the 1985 Toyota Celica on Harlem Avenue at Randolph, around 3:45 p.m., because the license was registered to a black 2001 Pontiac. The driver, 55, from Chicago, was found to have had his license revoked. He told police he knew he did not have a valid license and that it was a crime to be driving, but said he was driving a new car home from work, bought just two days before. Forest Park police tried, but failed, to get the charge upgraded to felony aggravated driving with a revoked license. The man was charged with operating an uninsured vehicle, improper use of registration, driving with license revoked and having a suspended registration.
Commotion at 7-Eleven
Police arrested a 57-year-old Chicago man at the 7-Eleven, 7749 Roosevelt Road, after he allegedly made trouble while begging for money inside the store. When cops arrived, he was reportedly screaming loudly at passing cars and pedestrians. When told he was under arrest, the man became “enraged, confrontational and combative” toward the officer and threated to beat him up and kill him. When a second officer arrived, he became calm and cooperative. He had another attack of rage and fighting with officers at the station but then calmed down. Officers issued him two local citations for soliciting and obstructing a peace officer. They then dropped him off at the Blue Line station, 711 Desplaines Ave., and sent him on his way.
Car smashes school after chase
A police car chase of a vehicle traveling from Berwyn ended with the 2003 Ford Expedition, registered to a 47-year-old Chicago man, driving into the dead-end alley behind St. Bernardine Church around 1:30 p.m., Oct. 2. The occupants opened the car doors and jumped out as the Expedition continued forward and crashed into the St. Bernardine school building. The car was connected with a burglary and theft of vehicle parts in Berwyn. Officers released the police K-9 dog to help chase the occupants. Police arrested the driver, who was charged with fleeing a peace officer, suspended driver’s license, no proof of insurance and resisting an officer. Police found a second passenger in the 700 block of Circle and held both for Berwyn police. A female passenger was released without charge.
Someone’s hiding in my truck
A witness observed an unknown man inside the cab of a 2002 Chevy pickup parked in the 7200 block of Lexington Street around 7 a.m., Oct. 4. He called the owner of the truck and informed him of the situation, then called 911. Police found a 21-year-old Chicago man inside the cab of the truck behind the seats, wrapped in a moving blanket. They also found the rear sliding window smashed and the driver’s side door unlocked. Police charged the man with criminal trespass to a vehicle.
Bagging too soon at Walmart
A loss prevention agent at Walmart observed a woman near the men’s sock department with two carts around 5:45 p.m., Oct. 4. One cart was full of items and the second cart was empty. As the guard watched, the 33-year-old Chicago woman allegedly bagged the items in the full cart in Walmart bags and placed the bags in the empty cart. She then attempted to wheel the bag-filled cart out of the store, but was stopped by guards. Stacy Davis was charged with felony theft after the illegal proceeds in her cart totaled up to $637.72.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, Sept.29-Oct. 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.
Compiled by Jean Lotus
Contact:
Email: jlotus@forestparkreview.com
Twitter: @FP_Review
