Man convicted of murder found with gun
A 38-year-old Harvey man who last month served out the remainder of his parole for a 2000 murder conviction was charged last week by Forest Park Police with possessing a handgun loaded with hollow-point bullets.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved felony weapons charges against Isaac D. Hale, after an officer reported finding a loaded .40-caliber Beretta Vertec Model 96 pistol hidden in the center console of Hale’s rented 2014 Nissan.
Police stopped the Nissan after an officer reported seeing Hale urinate in public behind a gas station in Oak Park at Roosevelt Road and Harlem Avenue on May 6 about 1:20 p.m.
Hale then reportedly drove across the northbound and southbound lanes of Harlem Avenue before heading west on Roosevelt Road. Shortly afterward, Hale switched seats with the car’s passenger, a 30-year-old Harvey man. Police stopped the vehicle at the intersection of Roosevelt and Lathrop.
Police reported recovering a cannabis “blunt” from the passenger’s waistband and asked Hale if they could search the vehicle for anything illegal. Hale reportedly gave police permission and an officer found the gun. The weapon’s serial number had been filed off and Hale reportedly would not tell police how he obtained the gun, saying only he was carrying it for protection.
In 2000, Hale was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years. He was paroled in April 2013 and exited parole last month.
The other man inside the vehicle was charged with driving on a suspended license, possession of cannabis and failure to signal.
Almost $18,000 in trunk
Forest Park police reported seizing almost $18,000 in cash from a vehicle during a traffic stop on May 10 about 12:50 p.m.
Police stopped the 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Elbert D. Farris, 24, of Chicago, because the vehicle had illegally tinted windows and a cracked windshield. Police reported a strong smell of cannabis coming from the car and reported recovering a small amount of cannabis on the center console.
An officer ticketed Farris for the equipment violations and arrested him for driving on a suspended license. As he was being arrested, Farris allegedly told the officer to “grab the money out of the trunk.”
Inside the trunk, in a plastic shopping bag in the spare tire compartment, police reported finding a stack of cash in various denominations totaling $17,862. According to police, neither man claimed ownership of the money at this time. The cash was seized and will be dealt with in civil court, said Deputy Police Chief Tom Aftanas.
Police seize cash in excess of $10,000, said Aftanas, when suspects can’t immediately show how they came into possession of that sum of money.
Citations for ‘rowdy’ funeral procession
The owners of vehicle that were part of a “rowdy” funeral procession that made its way through Forest Park on May 9 were sent registered letters containing citations for violating village ordinances, Forest Park police have reported.
Police were notified by Oak Park on May 9 at 1:20 p.m. that a rowdy funeral procession was headed west on Jackson Boulevard, led by a hearse from Corbin-Colonial Funeral Home.
According to the police report, officers noticed several vehicles blaring music and obstructing traffic. In addition, people allegedly were “hanging out of vehicles” and being disorderly.
Among the offenses noted by police were a motorist who moved from the right lane to the left lane, preventing other vehicles from passing, multiple occupants of one vehicle flashing gang signs outside the windows of the vehicle, and one female driver who stopped in the left lane of Roosevelt Road, opened the front and rear doors and then squatted down to urinate in the street.
Instead of trying to effect traffic stops and potentially escalating the situation, police sent the nine registered owners of the problem vehicles citations in the mail.
Most if not all of the offenses were captured on video, police said, and will be held for possible use in court.
Car stolen
A 39-year-old man contacted police to report that his gray 1997 Honda Accord sedan was stolen between 10:30 p.m. on May 8 and 3:20 a.m. on May 9. The car was parked in the 400 block of Elgin Avenue, and the owner said the vehicle was locked and that he had the only set of keys.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, May 4-10, 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
