Wearing nothing but a cowboy hat

On June 22 around 10:30 p.m., Forest Park police were called to JJ Fish and Chicken, on the 300 block of Harlem Avenue, after a man walked into the restaurant naked. He then went to his Chevy Impala and was blowing the horn before reportedly trying to hit an employee with his car. He then fled south on Harlem. Officers stopped the driver, who was wearing only a cowboy hat, in the left turn lane near I-290.

He then reversed “at a high rate of speed” and began driving north. He was stopped again at Harlem Avenue and Monroe Street, but not before rear-ending a squad car. Officers eventually broke the front driver and passenger windows to remove the driver from the car after he refused repeated commands to leave the car. He was not charged with any crimes, according to the police report, because of “suspected psychiatric problems.”

Armed robbery

An unidentified man, described in the police report as wearing a “black baseball cap, shoulder-length dreadlocks and a black jacket,” reportedly robbed two Forest Parkers, a 28-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man, on June 20 around 9:45 p.m. on the 800 block of Hannah Avenue. The unidentified man reportedly came out of the bushes and pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the pair, who gave him two credit cards, a debit card, an I.D. card and $10 in cash. He then ordered the pair to walk away. Police searched the area but did not find anyone. No arrest has been made.

A 19-year-old Blue Line CTA rider told police that on June 24 around 8 p.m. an unidentified man, reportedly 6 feet tall and wearing a black hoodie, robbed him of $220 along with a credit and debit card while he was riding the train.

The victim, according to the police report, got on at the Forest Park Blue Line Station, 711 Desplaines Ave. and took a seat. Shortly after the train started moving, he felt something “sticking him in his side.” The unidentified man, sitting behind him, then said “Give me your wallet.” The victim did and the unidentified man then got off at the Harlem Avenue train stop. 

Theft

The owner of a salon on the 400 block of Thomas Avenue told police on June 22 around 4 p.m. that a mother and her daughter got an $80 manicure and pedicure and then left without paying. They fled eastbound on Madison Street in a white 2014 Jeep. No arrest has been made.

Someone stole $70 of Amazon merchandise from the lobby of Park Terrace Condos, 1005 Desplaines Ave. between 1:30 and 6 p.m. on June 21. Amazon confirmed the package was delivered. There is video of the lobby but the building’s condo association manager has not been contacted yet, according to the report. 

Motor vehicle theft

Enterprise Rent-A-Car, 7630 Roosevelt Road, told police on June 21 around 2:15 p.m. that a 39-year-old customer had not returned a rental car. The man had paid for the car through June 2 but had not been heard from since. Repeated calls to the man were not returned. No arrest has been made but the vehicle was entered into a police database as stolen.  

Retail theft

A 28-year-old man was arrested on June 24 around 10 a.m. for stealing $60 of merchandise from Walgreens, 7200 Roosevelt Road. Employees saw the man put several items in his backpack before leaving the store. The 28-year-old reportedly swore at one employee on the way out after the employee asked him if he was going to pay for the merchandise. He fled northbound on Elgin Avenue and was picked up by Oak Park police a short time later on the 1000 block of Harlem Avenue. 

Residential burglary

A 35-year-old Forest Parker on the 400 block of Ferdinand Avenue told police June 23 around 10:30 p.m. someone broke into his home, after breaking a kitchen window. What was taken, if anything, was unknown at the time the police report was filed.

Someone stole jewelry from a home on the 500 block of Thomas Avenue sometime between June 23 and 25. The homeowners were gone for the weekend. The burglar, according to the report, got in through a rear porch window. No arrest has been made.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, June 19-25, 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 Thomas Vogel