A Cricket employee at 1215 Harlem Ave. received a suspicious phone call on July 15 at 4:14 p.m. The male caller identified himself as part of the Mexican mafia and said he was sending two armed men to the store. She was instructed to be calm and comply when they arrived. She immediately locked the doors, advised her coworkers of the situation and phoned the police. The reporting officer was given an email from a Cricket district manager stating that two similar incidents occurred at Cricket locations in Chicago; in those incidents, two armed robberies occurred after the suspicious phone calls were made.
Bar again violates liquor rules
Lantern Haus, once again, was issued a village ordinance violation on July 16 at 2:05 a.m. for serving alcohol past allowed hours. Police observed approximately eight patrons at the bar, actively consuming alcoholic beverages. Music was still being played. A patron approached the officer, stating they were just about to lock the doors and turn off the music.
The bartender apologized and said she lost track of time. The people in the bar were not employees of the business but friends, celebrating her birthday. She said she was aware of the rules to close and stop serving alcohol at 2 a.m. on the listed night.
According to the police report, “Lantern Haus has been given multiple verbal warnings in the past weeks about violations involving noise, closing on time, and subjects exiting the bar onto the public way with alcoholic beverages.”
Reckless drivers ticketed during funeral procession
Tickets were issued to six reckless drivers during a funeral procession near Harlem Avenue and Roosevelt Road on July 17 at 1:14 p.m. Officers observed some vehicles in the procession driving recklessly into oncoming traffic, blocking traffic by cutting off innocent motorists at intersections, taking up multiple traffic lanes, and having multiple occupants hanging out of open windows. Police recorded license plates of the offending vehicles, which were also recorded by the red-light camera at the intersection.
These drivers were in violation of two codes, one covering negligent driving and the other covering the proper rules for a funeral procession, which states: “Each driver in a funeral or other procession shall drive as near to the right hand edge of the roadway as practical and shall follow the vehicle ahead as close as practical and safe.”
Illegal dumping at Circle Lanes
A local ordinance ticket will be issued to the owner of a vehicle caught on camera depositing a large amount of trash into the Circle Lanes dumpster, 7244 Circle Ave. The trash practically filled the dumpster, putting Circle Lanes in jeopardy of receiving a fine for excess garbage.
Semi tractor fire on Industrial Drive
Two semi tractors caught fire and were burnt beyond identification at 7526 Industrial Dr. on July 19 between 12:15 and 12:30 p.m. The trucks belonged to Total Express Services, and at the time of the report the cause of the fire was unknown.
Tree branches damage property
A large tree branch fell on the 300 block of Lathrop, damaging two vehicles, on July 19 at 6:44 a.m.
On the 1100 block of Elgin, a tree branch fell onto a resident’s car causing damage on July 19 at 11 a.m.
Belligerent men ticked for open containers
Two irate men were issued tickets for open alcohol as they drank Mike’s Hard Lemonade and hung out on Madison Street on July 19 just after midnight. Police stopped them, and one of the offenders threw his drink on the ground and kicked it under a car. While officers wrote the citations, one of the men became “more belligerent and agitated” and started cursing and calling the officer “Oat Meal Face.” They called the officers “countless names and continued to shout and berate” them the entire time.
One of the men demanded the officer’s badge number, which he gave “approximately 10 times.”
When the tickets were issued, the more belligerent of the two men threw them into the officer’s window. The officer tossed them back out at the man, who finally picked them up but aggressively walked toward the officer. The officer ordered the man to back up. He did but kept calling the police names. All was captured on audio.
Car stolen at Thornton’s
A vehicular hijacking occurred at Thornton’s, 601 Harlem Ave., on July 13 at 2:32 a.m. A man was outside of his vehicle pumping gas when a silver Nissan sedan pulled up next to him. Five men exited the vehicle and demanded his car keys. He froze. The subjects entered his car, his key fob and cell phone inside it, and drove away. The victim did not see a weapon on any of the offenders. For a while, officers were able to trace the victim’s cell phone in an attempt to locate the vehicle and offenders, but after a time the phone was no longer traceable.
Cemetery tools stolen
Woodlawn Cemetery, 7750 Cermak Rd., was burglarized on July 16 between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following morning. An unknown offender gained entry to the landscaping trailer and stole multiple items, including three hedge trimmers, two line trimmers, and one leaf blower.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, July 12-19, 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
