Robbery near CTA Blue Line station

A 19-year-old Forest Park man told police he was robbed on July 7 around 1 a.m. while walking home from the CTA Blue Line platform near Circle Avenue and Harrison Street. The man told police he works at O’Hare Airport and was on his way home on the train. While on the train, a passenger got on and sat across from him. The unknown man followed the Forest Park man off the train and pushed him up against a fence saying, “Give me everything you got.” The victim told police he replied, “You don’t wanna do this.”

A struggle ensued and the offender eventually ran off with the victim’s bag and wallet. The victim chased him and found the man in a Harrison Street alley. After a “small struggle,” the offender ran off with $17. The victim was cut on his forehead and back. No arrest has been made but CTA video captured stills of the suspect. 

Unlawful use of a weapon

Alexander Montesdeoca, a 34-year-old Riverside man, was arrested June 30 around 4 p.m. for felony unlawful use of a weapon at 7749 Roosevelt Road. Forest Park police noticed Montesdeoca in a parked 1998 Nissan in the 7-11 parking lot “away from the gas pumps and away from the designated parking spaces.” 

Officers approached the car and he and another passenger reportedly began “shaking uncontrollably.” Police asked to search the car and found a Winchester .25 caliber handgun in a fanny pack on Montesdeoca, who said he carried it for protection, as well as about half a gram of heroin. 

Bike thefts

A 68-year-old woman reported on June 30 around 9 p.m. that her $1,500 blue Giant Invite bike was stolen, sometime between Dec. 16, 2016 and June 30. She had put the bike in storage on the 200 block of Elgin Avenue after an injury. When she returned on June 30, she found the bike had been taken.

A 50-year-old woman on the 7400 block of Franklin Street told police her light blue Crosstown Cruiser was taken sometime between noon and 2 p.m. on July 9 from under her porch. The bike was valued at $100.

Possession with intent to deliver

Forest Park police found about 11 grams of suspected heroin and .3 grams of suspected crack cocaine in a 2002 Buick Century on June 1 around 4:30 p.m. on the 8100 block of Roosevelt Road. Officers stopped the car after its driver, a 35-year-old West Chicago man, failed to signal when making a lane change and found the suspected drugs after a search. A name check of the driver revealed to police he was a “documented gang member.” 

Coming up empty

A woman on the 500 block of Thomas Avenue told police someone searched her car, parked and possibly unlocked, sometime between 6:30 p.m. on July 3 and 7 a.m. on July 4. She found her driver-side door ajar on the morning of July 4. Nothing was reported missing and there were no signs of forced entry.

A man on the 600 block of Marengo Avenue told police someone rummaged through his 1999 Nissan Altima sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. on July 4. Nothing was reported taken but the man said his car was locked. There were no signs of forced entry.

Someone searched a woman’s 2007 Toyota Corolla on the 400 block of Hannah Avenue on July 4 between 12:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. The woman told police she thought the car was locked but there was no sign of forced entry. Nothing was reported missing.

A woman on the 500 block of Beloit Avenue told officer someone went through her 2016 Honda CRV sometime between 5 p.m. on July 5 and 8 a.m. on July 6. The car had been left unlocked. Nothing was reported missing.

A woman on the 400 block of Ferdinand Avenue told officer someone searched her 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe sometime between 7:30 p.m. on July 5 and 5:30 p.m. on July 6. Nothing was reported taken and the car was “most likely” left unlocked. 

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, June 30-July 9, 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