Woman charged with credit card fraud
A 19-year-old woman who worked at Ultra Foods, 7520 Roosevelt Road, has been charged with credit card fraud after she reportedly used a fellow employee’s credit card to make unauthorized purchases at the store.
The victim told police he was using his smartphone to pay bills in the break room of the store on Feb. 23 and accidentally left a credit card on the table. On March 12, his bank contacted him to alert him to some possibly fraudulent purchases.
Surveillance cameras reportedly showed the offender taking the credit card and then using it to make two purchases at the store three days later.
The offender reportedly wouldn’t tell police when they questioned her on March 14 where the credit card was because “she did not want to get anyone else in trouble.”
A 77-year-old Forest Park man on March 15 told police that someone had obtained debit card information and made three cash withdrawals at Walgreens, 7200 Roosevelt Road, in 2016.
According to the victim, the withdrawals and ATM fees amounted to about $615. The victim also said he filed a report in Oak Park about a withdrawal made there.
Attempted break-ins
Forest Park police responded to a home in the 400 block of Circle Avenue on March 14 about 3:30 p.m. after a resident called to report an attempted break-in.
Police reported that someone had taken a garbage can from the alley and placed it underneath a window to the residence. Several window screens appeared to have been opened, but no entry was gained to the house. Police also reported a palm print on one of the windows.
A resident of the 7400 block of Randolph Street called police on March 16 to report two suspicious incidents leading him to believe someone was trying to break into his apartment.
According to the resident, he returned home just after midnight on March 8 and noticed that the front door knob to his apartment was loose and broken. However, he wasn’t concerned until March 15 when he returned home to find gouges in the deadbolt and door that appeared to have been made by someone trying to pry open the door with a screwdriver.
Man charged with theft at Walmart, again
A 43-year-old Berwyn man on parole for a 2016 retail theft conviction faces new felony retail theft charges after he allegedly stole four wireless speakers valued at $159 from Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., on March 17 about 5:40 p.m.
According to the police report, Jameica Brown stole the speakers from the store and fled the scene, pursued by an employee. Police located Brown inside a nearby fast food restaurant and arrested him.
The employee reportedly identified Brown as the offender and directed police to a bush where Brown had allegedly dumped the stolen merchandise along with his jacket.
Brown reportedly has been arrested three times for theft at the Forest Park Walmart between 2011 and 2016.
In 2011 and 2013, police had reportedly issued him trespass warnings. Brown is being held at Cook County Jail with his bond set at $30,000.
Theft suspect reportedly assaults store clerk
A 22-year-old Oak Park man arrested for allegedly attempting to steal cigarettes from a Roosevelt Road convenience store on March 17 about 10:30 p.m. also faces assault and battery charges after he allegedly wrestled with a store clerk and kicked the police officer who arrested him.
Police said the offender swung and missed on two attempts to punch a clerk at the 7-Eleven and then wrestled the clerk, who confronted him about the theft attempt, to the ground.
Police separated the two and took the offender into custody. On the way to the police station, the offender allegedly proceeded to kick at the windows of the squad car and then reportedly kicked the arresting officer as he was walked into the station for processing. The officer reportedly reacted by striking the offender in the forehead and the offender was later taken to the hospital after complaining of dizziness.
Battery
A 40-year-old man contacted police on March 16 to report he’d been injured during an incident at Shortstop Lounge, 7425 Madison St., sometime after midnight on March 12.
The victim told police he’d confronted another man who was reportedly being rude to a female bar patron, exchanging heated words with him before the other man stomped down on his left leg, causing broken bones and ligament damage that he didn’t realize until he got home.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, March 13-19, 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
