Cellphone-talking driver  arouses road rage

Forest Park police cited a 51-year-old Melrose Park man for battery following an apparent road rage incident that took place at the intersection of Jackson Boulevard and Circle Avenue on March 27 about 6:30 p.m.

According to the offender, he became aggravated by the victim, a 50-year-old Chicago man because the victim was talking on his cellphone and not paying attention to his driving.

The offender said the victim didn’t notice the light had changed while turning northbound onto Circle Avenue from Roosevelt Road and that he had to honk his horn to get the victim’s attention.

Driving north on Circle Avenue, the offender said the victim would pump his brakes several times. With the victim still talking on his phone all the way to Jackson, the offender exited his vehicle and confronted the victim.

The victim and a witness told police that the offender boxed in the victim’s car and then pulled the victim out of the car and began wrestling with him. The offender stated he went up to the victim’s car, slapped the phone out of the victim’s hand and walked back to his vehicle.

The offender then stated the victim, brandishing a “stick,” confronted him and struck the window of the offender’s car with the stick. Police said no visible damage could be seen on the offender’s vehicle, a white BMW.

No one was injured during the incident.

Car stolen

A 50-year-old man reported to police on March 23 that while he was inside Dunkin’ Donuts, 7200 Circle Ave., someone stole his white 2012 Chevy Impala, which he left running and unlocked in the parking lot during the eight minutes he was inside the shop.

Attempted burglary

A resident of the 900 block of Elgin Avenue called police on March 26 to report that someone tried to gain entry to her residence between 1 and 2:18 p.m. Police observed that the doorknob was damaged and noticeably loose.

The offender reportedly did not gain entry to the residence and no items were reported missing.

Checks bounce

An employee of the Forest Park Emporium, 7345 Madison St., contacted Forest Park police on March 28 to report that a customer who’d been in the shop on two occasions had paid for items with bad checks.

The victim stated that the female customer came into the store on both March 18 and 20 and bought various items, paying for them with personal checks, both of which were misdated. The total amount of the purchases was almost $720.

On March 28, the victim received notice from her bank that the checking account in the customer’s name was closed.

Drug possession

A 33-year-old Oak Park man was charged with possessing 4 grams of cannabis after he was stopped by Forest Park police on March 26 about 1:30 p.m. for a minor traffic offense near the intersection of Dunlop Avenue and Roosevelt Road.

Police reported recovering three zip-top bags containing cannabis, three cellphones and $342 in cash.

Catalytic converter stolen

A resident of the 200 block of Marengo Avenue called police on March 28 that sometime between March 22 and 24, someone cut off the catalytic converter from her vehicle. The offender also reportedly tried to remove the driver’s side mirror.

Purse lifted from cart

A 28-year-old Chicago woman notified Forest Park police on March 28 that while she was shopping inside Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave. on March 25 between 8:30 and 9 p.m., someone stole her purse from her shopping cart.

The woman said that while she was putting purchased items into her vehicle, she remembered she had left her purse in the shopping cart. The woman said the purse had been left unattended for about one minute.

The Louis Vuitton purse contained an iPad, identification cards and credit cards.

Bike stolen

A Forest Park man contacted police on March 28 to report that his son’s black BMX Hyper Spinner bicycle was stolen outside the entrance of Portillo’s, 7740 Roosevelt Road, during the 10-minute period he was inside the restaurant, from 3:30 to 3:40 p.m.

The bike had a lock on it, but it wasn’t locked to anything when it was stolen, according to the police report. The bike was valued at about $100.

Cleaning device taken

An employee of a Forest Park business in the 1100 block of Harlem Avenue called police after someone drove up and stole a carpet cleaning “wand” from the rear of the property.

A video surveillance camera showed a male in a red pickup truck driving up the Harlem/Elgin alley and taking the “wand,” which was sitting close to the rear of the building about 1 p.m.

The device was valued at about $500.

 These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, March 23-29, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

 —Compiled by Bob Uphues