Halloween hit-and-run car chase
Two vehicles chased each other through the side streets of Forest Park around 5:36 p.m. Halloween night, Oct. 31, after the driver of a 2009 Ford Crown Victoria allegedly cut off a 2011 Lincoln Towncar travelling eastbound on Roosevelt Road at Hannah Avenue.
The driver of the Lincoln told police the Crown Vic pulled in front of him, cutting him off and striking his vehicle. The other driver began to follow the Ford, which cut through various side streets in Forest Park ending up travelling eastbound on 16th Street to Harlem Avenue. When the two cars were close to each other, the Crown Vic’s driver deliberately swerved and struck his car again on the side. The two cars ended up near the 1300 block of Circle Avenue, where two young men jumped out of the Crown Vic and ran away. A worker at a nearby business identified the owner of the Crown Vic to police. Cops searching the stopped vehicle found a title and registration listing the 17-year-old owner’s name, but could not find either of the men.
Around 12:40 a.m. a Forest Park juvenile with his mother turned himself in at the Forest Park police department for a “road rage incident.” He told police he didn’t stop because he was afraid the occupants of the Lincoln would beat him up. He was found to have never been issued a driver’s license and was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, improper speed, no license, no insurance and improper lane usage. After setting up a court date, mom posted bond and he was released into her custody.
More car crimes
A Jeep Grand Cherokee parked in the 7400 block of Fillmore Street was broken into overnight Oct. 27-28. The glove compartment was ransacked and CDs were missing. The owner said she kept the car locked, and officers observed damage to the driver’s side door and window.
Spare scare
Two spare tires were snatched from parked cars in the north end of town between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Nov. 1. A 2005 Jeep Liberty parked in the first block of Lathrop Avenue was hit, as well as a Toyota Rav4 parked in the 100 block of Marengo Avenue.
Sometime during the evening Nov. 2, a man told police his neighbors pointed out someone had stolen his spare tire from a 2011 Toyota parked in the 1000 block of Desplaines Avenue. Estimates to repair and replace the spare could cost up to $2,500, the report said.
Blue Line bad behavior
A CTA rail supervisor summoned police to remove an obnoxious passenger on the Blue Line platform around 12:30 p.m. Oct. 29. The 25-year-old Chicago man had struck a passenger in the face. When asked to leave he told the employee, “F— you, I’m going to kick your a—.” Police came and put him into custody, charging him with aggravated assault. The victim declined to press charges.
Forest Park cops clearing out a Blue Line train at the end of the line around 2:45 a.m. Oct. 31 awoke a 58-year-old Chicago man, who became angry and said he’d fallen asleep and didn’t have enough money on his fare card to get back into the station. When asked to leave, he snuck back upstairs without exiting the station and pushed his way past an employee who had asked him to exit. He was charged with criminal trespass.
Burglary
Someone crawled through the unsecured bedroom windows of an apartment building in the 1000 block of Desplaines Avenue between 11 and 11:40 p.m. Oct. 27, ransacked a closet and removed an iPad. Police reported the window screen was popped out and a muddy boot print was found at the scene. Estimated loss was $549.
Battery
A girlfriend heard shouting and squinted into the hallway through the peephole of her boyfriend’s closed door 7400 block of Washington Boulevard around 4:15 p.m. Oct. 31. She summoned police to break up a fight between the boyfriend, age 38, and a 56-year-old neighbor. An argument turned physical and the neighbor kicked the younger man and then threw a punch, aiming for the face. When cops arrived, the victim had mastered the situation and was perched on top of his neighbor, who lay on the ground. The victim told police his neighbor and he were on bad terms and he accused the neighbor of trying repeatedly to enter his apartment. The neighbor was charged with battery.
Boozing underage
A Summit, Illinois man, only 19, was found to be underage in the Slainte tavern, 7505 Madison St., around 1:45 a.m. Nov. 1. He was charged with “Minor in a Bar” and released from the station.
‘Earlier in the morning I had a few’
Officers observed the driver of a 1990 Cadillac turning without benefit of a signal and curbed the car near Desplaines Avenue and Harrison Street around 5:50 p.m. Nov. 2. The officer reported a strong odor of alcohol was emitting from inside the Caddy and the driver’s speech was reportedly slurred. When asked if he’d been drinking, the 49-year-old Chicago man acknowledged, “earlier in the morning I had a few.” When asked to elaborate, he stated he had “three beers and a pint of Richard’s [whiskey].”He failed field sobriety tests and was taken into custody at the Forest Park police department, where he blew a .21 blood alcohol content on the Breathalyzer, almost three times the legal limit of .08. He was charged with DUI. An administrative hold was placed on his car.
These items were obtained from the records of the Forest Park Police Department, Oct.29-Nov. 2, 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
