Man ‘snaps,’ drives car into fence
Police charged a 37-year-old Forest Park man with misdemeanor criminal damage to property after he allegedly “snapped” during an altercation on Sept. 16 about 1:25 a.m. with a 33-year-old woman and drove her car through a fence in the 8200 block of Roosevelt Road in retaliation for allegedly smashing items inside his residence.
When police arrived, they reported seeing a red Ford Focus in the rear parking lot of the building with a large section of wooden fencing on the front windshield. The rear windshield and both rear windows were also smashed out.
The male resident of the building told police the woman, with whom he has a child, came over to his residence unannounced about 10 p.m. He allowed the woman inside his apartment and they began to talk. The discussion escalated into an argument during which the woman reportedly slashed his TV with a knife and damaged other items.
That caused him to “lose it” and damage the woman’s car, according to the police report. Neither party wanted to press charges against the other. However, the fence belonged to the nearby Aperion Nursing Home.
Officials at the nursing home said they would pursue charges against the man for damaging the fence.
Fraud complaint
A 30-year-old Chicago woman wanted for theft in Forest Park, and also wanted on a warrant in DuPage County, was arrested on Sept. 16 after she allegedly tried to buy a car by providing false information to obtain financing at Currie Motors, 8401 Roosevelt Road.
The manager of the business called police after learning about the alleged attempted fraud. Police learned that the woman had also purchased a vehicle from a dealer in Stone Park the previous week. A tow truck was called to the scene to repossess that vehicle.
The woman was taken into custody and police indicated that an investigation was ongoing.
A boot in the groin
A 28-year-old Elmhurst man, ticketed by Forest Park for public urination, also reportedly received a swift kick in the groin from the owner of the building on which he was urinating, according to a police report of the incident, which happened about 2:10 a.m. on Sept. 15.
The owner of the building in the 400 block of Ferdinand Avenue said he was coming home in his vehicle and pulled into the alley in search of a parking spot when he saw a subject urinating on the side of his building.
When the building owner confronted the subject, the two exchanged words before the subject allegedly threw a punch at him. In response, the building owner booted the man in the groin and then called police, according to the report.
The Elmhurst man told police the man kicked him for no reason but refused to sign a complaint for battery.
Catalytic converter theft
Police responded to the 500 block of Hannah Avenue about 5:40 p.m. on Sept. 15 after a 48-year-old man reported that when he started his 2005 Pontiac it sounded much louder than usual. He looked underneath the vehicle and observed that the catalytic converter had been sawed off sometime after 3 p.m. on Sept. 14.
A resident of the 800 block of Circle Avenue called police on the morning of Sept. 18 to report that sometime during the overnight hours, someone removed the catalytic converter from her 2000 Buick, which was parked behind her residence.
Also on the morning of Sept. 18, a resident of the 900 block of Marengo Avenue called to police after learning that, during the overnight hours, someone used a saw to remove the catalytic converter from her 2003 Pontiac, which was parked on a gravel driveway.
Package stolen
A resident of the 7500 block of Madison Street contacted police on Sept. 17 to report that she never took possession of a package delivered to her residence by FedEx on Sept. 9.
FedEx confirmed delivery of a black Stella McCartney purse at 2:22 p.m. on Sept. 9. However, when the woman returned to her residence that day, no package could be found.
Card skimmer at 7-Eleven
On Sept. 16, an agent for the department of Homeland Security notified Forest Park police that he found a “skimming” device on a Citibank ATM at 7-Eleven, 7749 Roosevelt Road.
The agent said he pulled on the credit card port cover out of habit, and a green plastic duplicate cover came off, revealing the actual ATM card port. He then observed a gray plastic panel above the keypad which he believed to be a PIN capturing device.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Sept. 12-18, 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
