A 26-year-old Chicago man faces a felony charge of criminal damage to property and a misdemeanor count of drunken driving after he allegedly tried to ram his way out of Forest Home Cemetery, 863 Desplaines Ave., by driving his 2000 GMC Yukon through the locked Desplaines Avenue gate on the afternoon of Aug. 18.

According to the police report, Andres Roa Jr.’s blood alcohol content was .192, or more than twice the legal limit of .08, when police arrested him inside the cemetery at about 4:35 p.m.

Roa reportedly told police he went to the cemetery to meet two cousins and visit the grave of a late uncle. When the family members attempted to leave the cemetery, the gates were locked. At that time, one of Roa’s cousins reportedly called a phone number on a sign posted on the cemetery gate in case anyone gets locked in.

But, Roa told police it was taking too long for someone to respond, so he “attempted to drive through the gate at 5 mph,” according to the police report.

In doing so, Roa reportedly did about $5,000 worth of damage to the gate and pavement, including ripping one of the gate posts out of the pavement.

Armed robbery

Forest Park police are investigating an alleged armed robbery that took place at the corner of Adams Street and Desplaines Avenue on Aug. 16 at about 2 a.m.

The victim, a 24-year-old Chicago man, told police that a 25-year-old Oak Park man had taken his bicycle at gunpoint and was last seen riding northbound on Desplaines Avenue.

According to the police report, the victim did not call police immediately after the incident, but instead called a friend to take him to his father’s house in River Forest. About an hour after the alleged robbery, police stopped the car in which the victim was a passenger for unspecified violations. At that time, the victim told a police officer about the robbery.

The victim and offender reportedly know each other, according to the police report, and had been talking to one another at a Madison Street bar before leaving and walking southbound on Desplaines Avenue from Madison Street.

The offender at one point reportedly asked the victim if he could ride the bike “around the block.” The victim agreed and the offender rode the bike for a time before returning it. The two continued to walk south on Desplaines Avenue, but when they got to Adams Street, the offender allegedly held a silver and black handgun to the victim’s head and demanded the bike.

The bicycle, which is a black “Steamroller” model with a black carrier bag and a gold chain, reportedly was valued at about $2,900. The carrier bag contained clothes, a phone charger and Motorola cellphone.

Windshields smashed

Two vehicles had their rear windshields smashed out by an unknown person who reportedly threw a brick through them during the overnight hours of Aug. 14-15.

One of the vehicles had been parked in the rear lot of an apartment building in the 7200 block of 13th Street. The other had been parked in the rear lot of an apartment building in the 1300 block of Harlem Avenue.

Both vehicles had been damaged by someone who threw a red brick through the windows. Bricks were found inside each vehicle.

Theft

An employee of a canopy company doing work at a Randolph Street business on Aug. 13 called police that afternoon to report that a couple of power tools were stolen from a trailer while they were working.

Workers were completing an awning job at Refiner’s Pride, 7323 Randolph St., at about 2:20 p.m., when they noticed a Dewalt cordless drill and a Dewalt 40-volt grinder that had been left on top of a trailer were missing.

No one witnessed the theft of the items, which were valued at about $600.

A resident of the 200 block of Elgin Avenue contacted police on Aug. 14 to report that sometime between 3 and 4:30 p.m., someone had stolen packages containing about $30 worth of orange multipurpose keychains that had been left to be picked up by UPS.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Aug. 12-18, 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 Bob Uphues