Man car-jacked at gunpoint on Elgin
A beige 2015 Volvo was carjacked by two suspects on Sept. 7 at 12:23 a.m. in the 900 block of Elgin Avenue.
The victim, a Forest Park man, stated he had been sitting in the running vehicle when a man in dark clothing and a white surgical mask approached the vehicle on the driver’s side.
He revealed a semi-automatic handgun and told the victim to exit the car. A second suspect dressed in similar style and also holding a semi-automatic handgun approached on the passenger side.
The victim said he left his cellphone and wallet on the passenger seat and exited the car. Police followed the car onto I-290, but lost sight of it near the Independence exit.
Armed robbery
A man reported an armed robbery just outside the Fellowship Club in the 7000 block of Harrison Street on Sept. 7 at 3:07 p.m.
The victim told officers the suspect blocked his entry into the Fellowship Club, revealed a silver handgun and demanded the victim’s money.
A witness saw the suspect leave a home in the area, and police believe he is a repeat offender. Officers are obtaining footage from a surveillance camera that captured the incident.
Aggravated battery
Police were called to the Forest Park Blue Line stop for an aggravated battery on Sept. 4 between 8 and 9 a.m.
Transit workers told the responding officers that a woman was asked to leave the train after she had been spotted kicking a glass window. The woman allegedly responded with racial epithets, threatened to cut the transit employee and then spat on her.
Officers at the scene arrested the suspect and later found what seemed to be a crack pipe on her. The transit employee told police she plans to press charges.
Battery
Officers responded to a battery report at Doc Ryan’s, 7432 Madison St. around 3 a.m. on Sept. 10.
A man was accused of giving staff a hard time and refusing to leave the bar. When officers arrived, Doc Ryan’s staff said the man in question had been in an argument with a female customer, yelling at her, calling her homophobic slurs and knocking off her hat.
Officers were able to remove the man without incident.
Home burglarized
A home in the 900 block of Circle Avenue was burglarized while its occupant was on vacation sometime between Sept. 2 and Sept. 5.
Officers reported that unknown offenders pushed a window air conditioner into the home and climbed in after. The offenders took about $1,300 in cash and valuables, a garage door opener and a spare key.
Car Theft
A white 2003 Ford Econoline 100 van was reported stolen on Sept. 9 from the 900 block of Hannah Avenue.
The victim stated he had had a large quantity of power and hand tools stored in the van, along with two check books. The vehicle has not yet been recovered.
Counterfeit bills used
An employee at Happy Chef restaurant, 1215 Harlem Ave., discovered three counterfeit $20 bills had been used to make purchases.
According to the report, three suspects entered and each purchased about $1 worth of items and paid with the fraudulent $20 bills. It was not until after each had received their change and left that employees realized the bills were not legal.
Wallet thefts
On Sept. 5, a woman reported her wallet stolen at the Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave. According to the report, the woman had been stopped between 2:30 and 3 p.m. by an unknown female in her 20s who chatted with her about nothing before the victim moved along.
When she attempted to pay for her items, she discovered her wallet absent from her purse. The wallet had had $7, a medical insurance card and five credit cards within. The victim reported at one of those credit cards had been used to charge $600 at a nearby Target while she was still in the Wal-Mart.
On Sept. 6, a man reported his wallet stolen from his front pants pocket at the CTA Blue Line terminal on Desplaines Avenue. The victim reported that at about 11:10 a.m. he had been approached by a man who offered to sell him a cigarette.
Soon after the brief exchange, the victim discovered his wallet, containing $17, an ID and social security card, missing.
On Sept. 7, a woman reported her wallet stolen after she offered a ride to an unknown man who was trying to get to the River Forest Town Center from the 7000 block of Circle Avenue at about 11:15 a.m.
She reported that about 10 minutes after dropping the man off, she noticed her purse open and her wallet gone. The wallet contained about $30, her license and medical insurance card.
On Sept. 8, a man reported his wallet missing from the Planet Fitness, 7530 Roosevelt Road.
The victim reported he had been working out for almost two hours when he returned to his locker at about 8 p.m. to find the lock cut and his wallet gone. The wallet contained $60, the victim’s ID and a credit card.
The victim also reported that he had checked the trash cans near the Planet Fitness and found another person’s driver’s license and credit cards. Those items were turned over to the police and are waiting to be claimed.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Sept. 2-10, 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 Jyllian Roach
