Police respond to report of gunshots
Officers were called after three or four gunshots were heard at 6:16 a.m. on July 9 in the 1000 block of Lathrop Avenue. An officer on patrol saw two men fitting a description of the suspects and took them into custody.
A 21-year-old Forest Park man was charged with disorderly conduct and Vince A. Spinelli, 21, of Forest Park, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and possession of marijuana.
Police reported recovering a Springfield 9 mm handgun, ammunition and 0.5 grams of marijuana from Spinelli. Shell casings were also found in the area, police said.
On Monday, police did not know if Spinelli was a valid firearm owner in Illinois and said he shot the gun off into the air at least three times. When confronted, Spinelli did not make an attempt to flee, police said. Additional charges could be filed against Spinelli after a court appearance Thursday.
“Everyone did what was right in this instance,” Forest Park Police Chief Tom Aftanas said. “The dispatchers, the officers and the people who called it in. It takes people to call us.
“Luckily, [Spinelli] complied and everything worked out OK,” Aftanas added.
Fight at cemetery
Police were called to the Forest Home Cemetery at 5:34 p.m. on July 10 after a report of an intoxicated person in the cemetery in the 800 block of Desplaines. Police learned that a man attempted to fight another man at a grave site and attempted to talk with his family.
According to police, a 21-year-old Chicago man became upset when officered tried to talk with family members. He reportedly grabbed an officer’s shirt and then struck an officer when they attempted to calm him down and move him away from his family.
The offender continued to resist arrest and police used a stun gun to take him into custody him. He was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
He was charged with two counts of battery and two counts of resisting arrest.
Stealing steaks, whiskey, bike lock
A 61-year-old Maywood man was charged with felony retail theft after he reportedly took 24 steaks about 9 p.m. July 3 at Ultra Foods, 7520 Roosevelt Road.
Police were called after the man was seen putting the steaks inside his jacket, valued at $188 and attempting to leave without paying. Felony charges against the man were approved due to three previous convictions for retail theft.
A 21-year-old Berwyn man was charged at 3:22 p.m. on July 6 with felony retail theft after he allegedly stole three bottles of Jameson whiskey at CVS, 7216 Circle Ave. The whiskey was valued at $98. Felony charges were approved due to a prior burglary conviction.
A 22-year-old Chicago man was charged at 9:20 a.m. on July 8 with felony retail theft in the 1300 block of Desplaines Avenue after allegedly taking a bike lock from the shelf of a store and leaving without paying. Felony charges were approved due to prior convictions for larceny.
Two charged with prostitution
Two Forest Park women were charged with prostitution at 6:32 p.m. on July 6 in the 7600 block of Monroe Street after police made the arrests following an investigation.
Police were contacted multiple times for complaints of suspicious activity at the location. Police learned that massages and sexual acts allegedly were being exchanged for money. A 37-year-old woman and a 47-year-old woman were each charged with one count of prostitution.
Smokers hang out in U-Haul
An officer on patrol noticed a group of men entering a U-Haul moving van at 2:36 a.m. on July 2 in the 800 block of Harlem Avenue. The officer talked with a 31-year-old Cicero man and a 28-year-old man and 32-year-old woman from Chicago and learned they did not have permission to be inside the U-Haul.
Additionally, all three had been smoking cigarettes inside the van all night. Police said all three were homeless. They were each charged with criminal trespass to a vehicle.
Drug possession
A 29-year old Berwyn man was charged at 5:37 p.m. July 8 with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug equipment and possession of syringes in the 7700 block of Roosevelt Road.
An officer saw the Berwyn man about to shoot heroin in his vehicle when he approached. Police recovered seven Hydrocodone pills in addition to 1.5 grams of heroin and a syringe.
Lawn chair cushions stolen
Lawn chair cushions worth an estimated $150 were reported stolen at 6:54 a.m. on July 2 in the 800 block of South Elgin Avenue. The owner said they had a $300 hammock stolen a few months ago as well.
Medication stolen
Medication worth $150 was reported stolen at 7:08 p.m. on July 6 in the 200 block of Circle Avenue after a package that was delivered was missing from the owner’s front porch.
Narcan administered
A dose of Narcan was administered to a 71-year-old Forest Park man about 4:30 p.m. July 4 in the 7200 block of Randolph Street. The man called police to say he was not feeling well after snorting heroin with a friend.
He was given Narcan by and officer to reverse the effects of the opiates in heroin and taken to Loyola University Medical Center for evaluation.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, July 2-10, 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 Matthew Hendrickson
