An employee working the drive-thru lane at Portillo’s, 7740 Roosevelt Rd., was ordered at gunpoint to give all the money she was holding to a man in a Dodge Charger on June 28 at 10:16 p.m. The employee said she approached the car to take payment for the driver’s order, when he pulled out a silver handgun and said, “Unclip it. Don’t try anything. I don’t care, I know security is there.” She gave him the coin mechanism she was carrying and all the cash in her possession. The employee did not know the license plate number, but confirmed it was from Illinois. Officers are reviewing red light camera footage of the Desplaines Avenue and Roosevelt Road intersection in an attempt to locate registration information.
Horrible smell raises suspicions
The smell of “rotting, decomposing flesh” brought police to the 300 block of Desplaines Avenue on June 28 at 2:49 p.m. Other residents in the apartment building reported noticing the smell for four days, getting progressively worse.
With no management on site with a key and the building management company’s number going to voicemail, Forest Park firefighters forced entry to the apartment.
Inside, police discovered a package of raw chicken had been left on the counter in the warm apartment “and was turning grey,” according to the police report. Officers left a note for the resident, and the fire department secured the door.
Battery charge issued for spitting
A man well-known to the Forest Park police department for previous offenses was issued a local ordinance for battery on June 23 at 5:32 p.m. for spitting on a woman at the Harlem Avenue CTA train station at 701 Harlem Ave. According to the victim, he tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned around he said, “B!tch, I’m trying to ask you a question,” spit on her, and left.
When police questioned the offender, he said he and the woman were yelling at each other, and any spit that landed on the victim was unintentional.
Unknown suspect damages car with bat
Police were called on June 24 at 11:37 p.m. because a subject was damaging a vehicle at Marengo Avenue and Dixon with a bat. According to the witness who called, the subject was wearing a white coat and hitting a red car. When officers arrived, they saw the car’s front and rear wipers were damaged, and the antenna was bent. Despite canvassing the area for the subject, they did not find him.
Expensive bicycle stolen
A bicycle valued at $10,000 was stolen from a garage between June 24 and June 25 on the 800 block of Dunlop Avenue.
Officer bit by dog
An officer responded to the 1100 block of Marengo on June 26 for a possible domestic disturbance, and while there was bitten by a dog at the residence. The officer was on the sidewalk talking to the resident when someone inside the house opened the door, letting three dogs out unrestrained. All three jumped at and on the officer, and one of them bit the officer on the right forearm and right leg. The skin was not broken, but the area was red. The owner was issued a citation for unrestrained animals and was issued his portion of the Cook County dog bite card.
Snapple bottle thrown through window
A Snapple bottle was thrown through a window of Doc Ryan’s, 7432 Madison St, on June 27 at 12:26 a.m. An employee of the bar waved down an officer, stating that the window had just been shattered by unknown offenders. Several patrons outside the bar said they heard the glass shatter, but they did not see the offender.
Woman harasses customers at McDonald’s
A woman at McDonald’s, 410 Desplaines Ave., was harassing customers on June 27 between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Initially, she was harassing customers inside the store, said employees. Eventually she left but began to harass customers entering the restaurant. When told by the reporting officer to leave the location, she refused, until she was told she’d be arrested. At that point, the suspect walked past the property line and stared at the officer. But when the officer got into the squad car to leave, the woman began to walk through the McDonald’s drive-thru lane. When officers approached her, she fell to the ground and hid her hands. Officers managed to get her secured in the car, where she was issued a citation for trespassing.
Hot Wheels track, granola stolen
Two packages delivered to a home on the 1100 block of Troost Ave. were opened by unknown offenders and the contents stolen on June 28. Stolen was a Hot Wheels orange plastic track, a multipack of granola, and a sound machine for sleep and relaxation.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, June 22-28, 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 Maria Maxham
