First a large drink, then a false alarm
Forest Park police and fire responded at 9:24 a.m. on July 15 to McDonald’s, 420 Desplaines Ave., on a call that someone pulled the fire alarm.
When they arrived, the McDonald’s manager told them a man had come in the restaurant and poured himself a large soda without paying for it. When she confronted him about it, he looked her in the eye and pulled the fire alarm. He then walked south through the parking lot to Desplaines Avenue.
Police spotted Thomas A. Knighten, 38, of Chicago, walking down Desplaines Avenue with a McDonald’s cup in his hand. Officers transported Knighten to the McDonald’s, where the manager identified him as the man who pulled the fire alarm.
Knighten received a felony charge for disorderly conduct, as well as misdemeanor charges for retail theft and trespassing.
Hit-and-run leads to marijuana
Police responded to a hit-and-run call at 3:38 p.m. on July 17 at the intersection of Harlem and Circle avenues. A short while later, officers spotted a vehicle with front-end damage that matched description traveling south on Circle Avenue at Roosevelt Road. They curbed the vehicle and immediately smelled a strong odor of marijuana.
Driver Nathan Smith, 20, of Oak Park, gave police a valid insurance card but told him his license was suspended. When asked if he had anything illegal in his vehicle, Smith said he didn’t know.
Police searched the car and found a digital scale, and at least four bags containing a combined 150 grams of cannabis.
He was charged with delivery of over 30 grams of marijuana, which is a felony, as well as misdemeanor charges for failure to reduce speed, leaving the scene of an accident and driving with a suspended license.
Man with gun seizes backpack, cellphone
A man with a gun demanded the cellphone and backpack from a man walking home from 7-11, 205 Harlem Ave., at 1:30 a.m. on July 17.
The victim, 38, of Forest Park, told police he had purchased a few items from 7-11 about five minutes earlier and was walking home when he saw a car idling on the 7200 block of Randolph Street. As he passed the car, a man opened the passenger door, displayed a handgun and said, “gimme all that.” The victim gave him his Android phone, and backpack containing approximately $100 worth of toiletries, a phone charger and other items.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, July 15-21, 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
