Masked, armed robber beats employee

A man wearing a mask and armed with a handgun robbed Forest Park Liquors, 7429 Madison St. on Aug. 27 around 11 p.m. and repeatedly hit a 34-year-old employee in the head. The robber, according to the employee, took cash from two registers before locking him in the store’s cooler. He then fled out the back door. The man reportedly also asked the victim if he had “access to the store safe,” which he did not. Store security cameras recorded the incident and the man was last seen fleeing north on Burkhardt Court toward Warren Avenue. 

Criminal damage to property

A maintenance employee at Proviso Math and Science Academy, 8601 Roosevelt Road, found one of the school’s “outer windows” smashed on Aug. 21 around 2 a.m. The incident, the employee said, happened between Aug. 18 around 7:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. on Aug. 21. There may be security camera footage, the report said. 

Theft

Someone stole a license plate from Currie Motors, 8401 Roosevelt Road, sometime in the last two weeks. The dealership told Forest Park police on Aug. 21 the only reason they are aware of the missing plate is they got a red-light camera ticket from Berwyn with the plate attached to an unknown vehicle.

A 26-year-old woman on the 7200 block of Madison Street told police someone took a $90 package of clothing from the lobby of her building on Aug. 22 around 8:15 p.m. She saw the package earlier that day around noon but did not pick it up. When she returned later, it was missing. 

Residential burglary

A man on the 1200 block of Elgin Avenue told police on Aug. 22 that someone broke into his home sometime between Aug. 21 around midnight and Aug. 22 around 2 a.m. The victim told officers he left his home through the back basement door around noon and locked it. The man’s brother came over around 2 a.m. and saw the back door wide open without signs of forced entry. A Go Pro camera, keyboard, speaker and studio mixing board, totaling around $1,100 were all missing. The man’s parents, according to the report, were asleep upstairs at the time of the burglary.

Two bikes, worth around $1,600, were taken from a garage on the 100 block of Lathrop Avenue sometime between 3 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Aug. 24. The homeowner, a 32-year-old woman, told police the garage was unlocked at the time. 

Assault

Forest Park police arrested a 22-year-old Chicago man for assault after he repeatedly was “harassing and pestering” a 19-year-old woman riding a PACE bus, near 711 Desplaines Ave. on Aug. 23 around noon. The man reportedly followed the woman around the bus. Fearing for her safety, she told the man she would spray him with pepper spray if did not stop, at which point the man told her he would “smack” her. The woman then sprayed the man. The PACE driver was also inadvertently sprayed. 

Retail Theft

A man wearing sunglasses took a $350 comforter from Bed, Bath and Beyond, 215 Harlem Ave., on Aug. 9 around 12:30 p.m. The incident was not reported until Aug. 25. The delay is not explained in the police report.

A Forest Park Emporium employee told police on Aug. 25 that a 40-something man stole a $285 Topaz ring from the store, 7345 Madison St. The employee knew the man as “Jeremy” from previous visits to the store. On Aug. 25 he reportedly came in, starting asking about the ring. The employee, with the jewelry case still open, moved on to help another customer. Soon after, she saw the man leave the store, and later realized the ring was missing. 

Felony intent to deliver

A Villa Park man was arrested on Aug. 27 around 5 p.m. on the 600 block of Harlem Avenue. Forest Park officers saw the man drive his 2002 Mercury Sable out of Thornton’s gas station, 600 Harlem Ave., without signaling. Officers smelled a “strong odor of fresh cannabis” from the Mercury. They eventually found 61 grams of cannabis and about $400 in cash. 

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Aug. 21-27, 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