Man without license, insurance commits DUI
Police spotted a Jeep weaving and speeding at 1:56 a.m. on May 26 in the 300 block of Harlem Avenue. The Jeep traveled southbound and tried to enter the I-290 ramp, where it almost came to a complete stop. It then continued on and struck a curb in the 800 block of Harlem Avenue.
Officers curbed the vehicle in the 1000 block of Harlem Avenue. They asked the driver, Alfredo Luna, 24, for his driver’s license. “I never had one,” Luna replied. He handed his keys to the officer and said he had two 40-ounce bottles of alcohol to drink prior. Police spotted an empty beer in the center console cupholder and an opened case of beer between the driver and passenger seats. Luna said he did not have insurance for the Jeep.
He failed three field sobriety tests and was transported to the police station, where he blew a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.224, almost three times the legal limit. Luna told police he was drinking beer in his car, had dropped someone off in Forest Park and was attempting to drive his cousin home when he was pulled over.
Luna was charged with felony aggravated DUI, as well as for failure to signal, illegal transportation of alcohol, no driver’s license, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, DUI with BAC above 0.08 and improper lane usage.
‘Repair men’ stop car
A woman was driving her Toyota west on Roosevelt Road about 1 p.m. on May 30, when passengers of a neighboring SUV began waving and honking at her.
The woman rolled down her window, and two men began asking her if she remembered them from the dealership where she purchased her car. The name of the dealership was listed on her license plate.
They yelled that there was a dent on the passenger side of her Toyota, and they could fix it for her quickly if she pulled over.
The woman pulled into the service drive of 7500 Roosevelt Road, and the two men pulled some tools out of their trunk and began working on the passenger side of the car. She became suspicious and told the men that if they were looking for money for the “repair” she had no cash. They told her it would only be “$50 or $60” but the woman repeated that she did not have any money. The men stopped the work, told her that her husband could fix the car and drove away.
After they left, the woman noticed a basketball-sized dent near her passenger door that had not been there before.
Burglar lifts packages
Sometime between midnight on May 30 and 11:59 p.m. on May 31, someone broke into the building at 320 Desplaines Ave. and stole four packages and a bike. The packages contained about $90 worth of shoes and perfume. The building’s board president said a surveillance camera had captured the incident, and turned over the video to police.
A similar incident occurred on April 4, when possibly the same burglar was buzzed into the building and stole multiple packages.
Thief steals jewelry
A woman told police that she and her daughter entered Bed, Bath and Beyond, 215 S. Harlem Ave., at 1 p.m. on May 13. When she returned to her car, which was parked in the lot, its doors were unlocked. A few hours later, she realized her jewelry organizer was missing from her car. The organizer contained several pieces of jewelry worth more than $1,500.
Battery at bar
Police responded to Blueberry Hill Tavern, 427 Desplaines Ave., about 10:10 p.m. on June 1.
The bartender told police that a 28-year-old woman had been drinking at the bar and began to offer patrons “her services.” The man asked her to leave, and she exited the establishment. She then returned to the bar and started throwing and spilling drinks.
The bartender asked her to leave again. The woman refused, took a can of pepper spray from her purse and sprayed the bartender in the face. She then left the bar and walked east through the parking lot.
Officers apprehended the woman in the alley off Desplaines and Ferdinand avenues. The woman was charged with battery and criminal trespass to real property.
Cash, earrings taken from car
Sometime between 11:30 p.m. on June 1 and 1:23 p.m. on June 2, someone stole $800 cash and a pair of earrings from a Honda parked on Dunlop Avenue.
Truck batteries taken
Sometime between 6 p.m. on May 31 and 7:30 p.m. on June 1, someone stole 17 batteries from trucks parked in the Sewer Tech Services lot, 1400 Hannah Ave. An employee told police the batteries were valued at $200 each.
Burglar rides off with bike
Sometime between 3 and 3:30 p.m. on May 24, someone stole a bike from a home on the 500 block of Hannah Avenue. The victim said he left the bike parked between his garage and his neighbor’s garage while he was unloading some items from his car. He said the bike was valued at approximately $2,100, with a $100 speeding sensor attached.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, May 27-June 2, 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