Police arrest serial burglar
A woman left her home on the 1100 block of Troost about 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 6 and returned 20 minutes later to find a man standing in her home office.
The man said, “Let me explain. I’m running.” The victim replied, “get the [expletive] out of my house.” The man then ran out the door and through the alley.
While canvassing the area, police spotted a man who matched the suspect’s description boarding an eastbound bus in the Portillo’s parking lot. Officers removed Andre Johnson, 47, of Chicago, from the bus.
When they arrived, Johnson told police he had been visiting his girlfriend. He was transported to the police station where the victim positively identified Johnson as the burglar.
He was charged with burglary to the home on Troost, and was also charged with two other residential burglaries that occurred on the south end of Forest Park. Johnson was also charged with car burglary. When he was arrested, he was on parole for a Forest Park residential burglary committed in 2012, according to Mike Keating, deputy police chief.
“We have been arresting Johnson for residential burglaries in town since 1997,” Keating wrote in an email to the Review. “Forest Parkers should be extremely proud to have such an outstanding team of police officers working the street.”
Stolen car in Chicago crash
Sometime between 9 p.m. on Nov. 8 and 8:11 a.m. on Nov. 9, a Chevrolet Impala was stolen from the 300 block of Circle. Chicago police reported the vehicle was involved in a crash at 4:53 a.m. on Nov. 9; the driver fled the scene and the car was towed to an impound lot. The victim told police the car contained paperwork for her work.
J&J nail salon burglarized
Two men entered J&J Nails & Spa, 406 Thomas Ave., about 10 a.m. on Nov. 9 and asked the clerk to use the restroom. The victim showed one of the men to the bathroom, but the other didn’t follow the clerk, rifled through her purse, and took $200 cash. When the woman tried to stop the man, both fled north on foot.
Burglar takes cash, cellphone
Police responded to the 1100 block of Marengo about 4 a.m. on Nov. 12, on a call that a man was attempting to enter cars by checking their door handles. Officers spotted Demetris Robinson, 23, of Chicago, outside the entrance of REM temporary staffing agency. Robinson matched the description of the burglar.
He was transported to the police station, where a witness positively identified him as the burglar. Police found about $9 in change on the man and two cellphones. Robinson confessed to attempting to enter and burglarize three cars and then entering a fourth, from which he stole the cash and phone.
He received a felony charge of burglary and three counts of trespass to a motor vehicle.
Purse lifted from bartop
Sometime between 1:10 and 2:10 a.m. on Nov. 11, someone stole a woman’s purse from a bar on the 7400 block of Madison Street. The victim said someone stole her Louis Vuitton-brand purse, valued at $3,000, while she talked with another patron. She said the purse contained her house and car keys, credit cards, $60 in cash, and her driver’s license. Because the victim no longer had a pair of car keys, her car was towed to her home.
Fight in Roosevelt bar
Officers responded to a fight at a bar on the 7300 block of Roosevelt about 1:21 a.m. on Nov. 10. At the establishment, they found a man sitting on the bar top, with swelling on his forehead and face. He told police a man had punched him with a closed fist. A patron told police that four men were sitting at a table when they began to argue and physically attack one another. The victim tried to intervene but was punched to the ground. The man refused medical attention.
Buick windshield smashed
Sometime between 2 and 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 11, someone smashed the windshield of a Buick parked on the 7200 block of Madison.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Nov.5-12, 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
