Police spotted a Ford with a rear license plate registered to another vehicle in the parking lot at Thornton’s Gas Station, 601 Harlem Ave., about 11:30 a.m. on May 20.
A check of the vehicle registration revealed a warrant for the owner’s arrest from the Will County Sheriff’s Department. Police pulled into the parking lot and the car immediately switched course, traveling westbound. Three people exited the vehicle and began running in different directions.
Officers caught Timothy Coffman, 29, of Romeoville, in the alley on the 600 block of Circle Avenue. Coffman told police he started running because he had a warrant out for his arrest and needles on him.
Police uncovered two hypodermic needles, five suspected bags of heroin, two bags of suspected cannabis, and a pill bottle containing six orange pills on Coffman. He was transported to the police station, where he told police he had driven to Chicago to buy heroin in the morning. He said he had been doing heroin for about 15 years, and had pulled into Thornton’s to buy gas and to “dope.”
He was charged with possession of a controlled substance, which is a felony, as well as possession of drug equipment, possession of less than 30 grams of cannabis and resisting an officer.
Police also captured a Lockport woman, 25, who was a passenger in Coffman’s vehicle on the 600 block of Circle Avenue. She has a warrant out for her arrest from the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department, and was transported to that station. The other passenger who was in Coffman’s car was released on the scene.
Hit-and-run at Thornton’s
Police watched a Mitsubishi Outlander crash into two other cars at Thornton’s Gas Station, 601 Harlem Ave., at 2:24 p.m. on May 22.
The vehicle then left the scene, heading north on Harlem Avenue. Officers turned on their emergency lights and attempted to curb the car, but it did not stop.
The Mitsubishi turned east on Monroe Street, north on Maple Avenue and cut through the parking lot of an administrative building in Oak Park. Police eventually curbed the vehicle on the 500 block of Wisconsin Avenue. An Elmwood Park man, 37, exited the vehicle and started running from police.
An Oak Park officer eventually caught him on the 1000 block of Susan Collins Lane in Oak Park, and the man was transported to the Forest Park police station.
The man told police he picked his car up from the shop earlier in the day, and had taken two different medications that made him sleepy. He believes he fell asleep at the wheel and woke up when he hit the two cars at Thornton’s. When he saw police behind him, he got scared and fled.
He was charged with fleeing a police officer, improper lane usage, failure to reduce speed, leaving the scene of an accident, no driver’s license and resisting an officer.
Suspicious activity at car wash
Employees at Crystal Car Wash, 901 S. Harlem Ave., waved police down at 8:22 a.m. on May 23, saying that a man was acting suspiciously outside the car wash.
Employees told police the man had his hat lowered and sweater pulled up to reveal only his eyes.
Police spotted the man on the 1000 block of Harlem Avenue, asked him to stop but the man kept walking. Officers handcuffed him and found a metal tire iron hidden in his pants.
A search of the Chicago resident, 27, revealed he had an active warrant out from the Chicago Police Department for possession of dangerous drugs. He was transported to a Chicago police station. Forest Park police also charged him with obstructing a burglary investigation.
Customer batters store employee
Police responded to a call at Metro PCS, 7226 Roosevelt Road, at 9:52 a.m. on May 22, about a customer who had committed battery against an employee.
The employee told police a customer walked into the store, complaining that his charge cord to his phone was not working and he wanted to return it. The employee plugged the cord in and saw that it was working correctly. The man then became upset and demanded his cord back.
The employee unplugged the cord and began winding it up. The man didn’t wait for her to finish, grabbed the cord from her hands and bent her finger back in the process. She refused to be transported to the hospital.
Burglar rides off with two bikes
At some point between 12 and 7 a.m. on May 21, someone broke into a garage on the 500 block of Beloit Avenue and took two bikes, a bottle of wine and loose change. The bikes were valued at $800 each.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, May 20-26, 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.
Nona Tepper
