The Dunkin Donuts at 7200 Circle Ave. was held up by two males in their late teens or early 20s on Jan. 4 at 4:43 p.m. One of the offenders displayed a handgun and directed the employees to open the register, saying, “Open it or I’ll shoot!” The second offender jumped over the center counter and approached the cash register. One of the employees opened the register, and the second offender took all the paper currency, estimated to be greater than $300, and put it in his pocket. The offenders fled the store and were last seen heading west through the lot on foot. Officers searched the area, including inside the CVS store nearby, but did not find the perpetrators. 

At 6:51 p.m. on the same day, Forest Park police officers were informed that the Broadview PD was pursuing a vehicle wanted for an armed robbery. The vehicle, a gray Mercedes SUV, was pursued by the Oak Park, Broadview, Maywood and North Riverside police departments into Oak Park, where the car was abandoned in an alley. 

The descriptions of the subjects matched those of the perpetrators who held up the Dunkin Donuts. They were described as black males between the ages of 18 and 22, both wearing white jeans. One had a black jacket with a red hoodie, and the other wore a black jacket with a red hat.

Items stolen from vehicle

A small black Kershaw brand pocketknife, a pair of Oakley sunglasses and a tin of Acid brand cigars were stolen from a vehicle parked in back of a residence on the 400 block of Circle on Dec. 30 at 1:18 a.m. The victim reported he had forgotten to lock his car, and though the contents had been “thrown around,” no damage was done. The victim said he had observed a white male in his early 50s with greyish/brown hair, wearing a turquoise jacket and white jeans looking into cars and yards during the day.

CTA train graffiti 

Three offenders cut a fence to gain access to the CTA train yard at 1 S. Harlem, where they spray-painted graffiti on a train car on Dec. 31 at 9:11 p.m. They were last seen running northbound from the CTA tracks across the Metra train tracks into River Forest. 

At 9:47 p.m. the same night, two offenders with matching descriptions were reported 711 Desplaines Ave. in the “jungle,” where they spray-painted graffiti on a train car. The “jungle” is located between Concordia Cemetery and the I-290 expressway. One of the offenders, a white male, was wearing all black and the other had on a green sweatshirt. A third white male suspect was sitting inside a gold sedan, parked on the shoulder of I-290. The taggers fled on foot to the sedan, which proceeded westbound onto the expressway.

On Jan. 2, sometime after 6:30 a.m., a CTA train car was tagged with the same three-letter tag as in the “jungle” incident above.

Multiple garage thefts

Two drills, a circular saw, three power tool batteries and battery chargers were stolen from a garage on the 800 block of Marengo on Dec. 29 at 2:12 p.m. The homeowner said he parked his vehicle in the alley early the previous day but left it unlocked. He discovered his garage door opener missing from his vehicle and believes that is how the thief got into his garage.

A Ryobi leaf blower was reported stolen from a garage on the 800 block of Circle Avenue on Dec. 31 at 10:26 p.m. The victim said her vehicle, which was parked in the rear of her home, had been ransacked and her garage door opener was missing. Inside the garage, her other car was also ransacked, and her leaf blower was missing. There were no signs of forced entry to either vehicle, and the victim says the vehicle(s) may have been left unlocked. Nothing was stolen from inside the vehicles.

A lawn mower, a leaf blower and new shop lights were stolen from a garage on the 600 block of Harlem Avenue on Jan. 5 at 4:40 a.m. A tenant of the building witnessed the thief, who was wearing a white hoodie and black vest and appeared to be drunk because he fell into the door several times. 

Disorderly conduct

A customer at Doc Ryan’s, 7432 Madison St., refused to pay her tab and was throwing ice around the bar on Jan. 1 at 3:21 a.m. The reporting officer was waved down by a staff member. The officer spoke to the woman, who was visibly upset and yelling loudly at Doc Ryan’s staff members, telling her she needed to pay her tab. She finally did but crumpled the bill into a ball and threw it at a bartender. When the officer asked her for her identification to issue her a citation for disorderly conduct, she refused, but her friend retrieved the ID card from the offender’s purse and gave it to the officer. She was issued a local citation for disorderly conduct and released with the citation.

Forest Park Liquors employee attacked

An employee of Forest Park Liquors, 7429 Madison St., was closing up for the evening on Jan. 2 at 11:10 p.m. He began walking east from the store when two white females approached him. One of them, in her mid-20s with short hair and a white jacket with black lettering, began hitting him in the head with closed fists, causing him to fall and scrape his right arm and knee. According to the victim, the second female was trying to stop the attacker. He recognized both of them as customers from earlier in the evening, and he recalled that the attacker had seemed very intoxicated at the time. He said he does not know what prompted the attack, since he didn’t have issues with either of them. He declined medical intervention. 

Cannabis stolen from bar

A customer at Doc Ryan’s, 7432 Madison St., refused to leave the bar on Dec. 27 at 1:43 a.m. because a container with 3.5 grams of Crazy Train Haze cannabis was missing from his backpack. He told the reporting officer that he has a valid medical cannabis license and is a registered caregiver for his mother, who has cancer. He needed the marijuana to help her with the side effects of her treatment. He told officers he would sign complaints against an offender if one was identified.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Dec. 27-Jan. 5, 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.