‘Where’s the keys? Give me the keys!’
Officers arrived at Ferdinand Avenue, responding to reports of an attempted carjacking. The victim followed the offenders, and told police they were last seen headed north on Ferdinand and through the yard on the 400 block.
The victim told police she had arrived at her home on Ferdinand Avenue about 9:20 p.m. on Dec. 20. She shut her car off and sat inside for a moment, when two males came up to her car and opened the door, demanding, “Where’s the keys? Give me the keys!” The first man wore a black ski mask and was dressed in a puffy jacket, white pants and red shoes. The second wore a bluish-gray winter jacket with a hood. The victim got out of the car, and offenders reached into the driver’s jacket, looking for the victim’s keys or phone.
The victim swatted their hands away. When they started to walk away, the victim followed them until they ducked into the yards on the 400 block of Ferdinand.
Car stolen
A woman’s vehicle was stolen about 9:44 p.m. on the 500 block of Ferdinand Avenue, Dec. 20. The victim told police her car had been stolen from Municipal Lot #2, after she left her car running while visiting with her sister for a few minutes inside a residence on Beloit Avenue, according to the police report. She said her purse and other personal items were in the black Acura.
Bike stolen
Sometime between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m., Dec. 20, someone entered an unlocked garage on Beloit Avenue and stole a bike valued at $1,500.
Wrong home
After a night out in Chicago, an intoxicated man reportedly got confused as to where he lived and tried to break into the wrong house, according to a police report.
About 1:05 a.m. on Dec. 21, a woman woke to a man pounding on the back door and the windows of her home on Desplaines Avenue. Officers arrived on the scene and found the deck screen door ajar. They also noticed a window screen had been pulled down and bent.
Meanwhile, a man was found wandering between the homes next door. The offender saw police and fled west on Desplaines, hiding under a resident’s porch. Police found the man and ordered him to come out, but he didn’t move. Eventually, police were able to detain the subject, who smelled of alcohol and had glassy, bloodshot eyes. The man attempted to explain to police what happened, but his speech was slurred and broken. He mumbled that he was just trying to get home and had walked up to the wrong address.
The man said he had been in Chicago drinking with friends, and then returned to Riverside where the party continued. He then went to Submarine Tender at 200 Desplaines Avenue. After getting a sandwich, he began to walk home and thought the victim’s house was his. He told officers he “drank too much” and “did something stupid” but didn’t have ill intentions and was just “being stupid.” He was charged with criminal damage to property.
Open alcohol, possession of cannabis
Police arrived about 3:41 p.m. at Thornton’s gas station on a call that a man was passed out in his car. Officers found a man slumped in his car at 601 Harlem Ave. with a bottle of New Amsterdam pineapple vodka in his lap, according to a police report. Officers also saw a green, leafy cigarette on the car floor.
The man refused medical attention. Police seized the vodka and determined the bottle’s seal had been broken and determined that the cigarette was marijuana. The man told police he had more cannabis in his backpack. Police found another bag of suspected marijuana, a joint and a glass pipe with a burnt substance. About five grams of marijuana was inside. Police field-tested the man positively for cannabis. He was issued two citations — one for possession of cannabis and another for open alcohol. His Hyundai was towed and placed on administrative hold.
Phone stolen
A woman’s phone was stolen after she plugged it into an outlet next to payphones to charge, according to a police report. Between 3:55 and 4:14 p.m. on Dec. 19, a woman plugged her Metro LCS LG cellphone into an outlet at 711 Harlem Ave. to charge. She left the area where it was plugged in, and when she came back, it was gone. Her phone was in a black case and contained her Link card and Illinois identification.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Dec. 18-22, 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 Nona Tepper
