A man on the 7400 block of Washington Street was charged with unlawful use of a weapon on June 29 at 9:17 a.m. after he’d allegedly accidentally shot a gun with the bullet going through the wall of his apartment into his neighbor’s apartment. The neighbor was awakened from sleep around 7 a.m. that morning by a banging noise, which at the time she said she thought was one of her cats knocking something over. She went back to sleep, but when she awoke later, she saw a bullet hole in her bedroom wall and another in the adjacent wall too and some books, previously on a shelf, now on the floor. She called the police.

Officers interviewed her neighbor, who admitted he’d accidentally discharged a gun that he was trying to “de-cock.” He said he had borrowed the gun from a friend, wasn’t familiar with it and accidentally shot it. He said he picked up the shell casing and threw it over the balcony because he was so scared. He then called his friend to pick up the gun immediately.

The shooter, however, has an active order of protection against him out of Iowa, so Forest Park police contacted the Iowa State’s Attorney’s office, who told local police to obtain the gun if possible. The suspect was “extremely cooperative,” according to the police report, right away calling his friend to bring the firearm to the station. The gun owner came with the gun unloaded and in a case, and since he holds a valid CCL and FOID card, the gun was photographed and returned to him.

The shooter will be charged with a misdemeanor Unlawful Use of Weapon and violation of the Iowa order of protection for being in possession of a firearm.

Drivers switch seats after hit-and-run

A car involved in a hit-and-run near Harlem Avenue and Randolph Street fled the scene, but the victim was able to obtain photo and video of the offending vehicle on July 1 at 4 a.m. While an officer went to the offender’s listed address, police watched the video, which showed a man and a woman in the car. The man was driving the car during the crash, but shortly afterwards, he and the woman occupant switched places and she drove the car away from the scene. When questioned, however, the female of the offending vehicle said she had been driving the entire time, and the male claimed not to remember who was driving. The male’s driving record revealed his license was revoked for DUI, and he has had two previous convictions for driving while his license was revoked. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, driving on a revoked license and operating an uninsured vehicle. The woman was charged with leaving the scene of an accident.

CTA train car defaced

A train car in “The Jungle” area of the CTA station at 711 Desplaines Ave. was tagged with graffiti. The damage was discovered on July 1 at 2:30 a.m. by an employee doing a check of the outer track area.

Sports equipment stolen and resold

Sports equipment, including a bike and some softball equipment, were stolen from a garage on the 500 block of Hannah Avenue sometime between June 16 and 30. Owners called the police on July 1 after going into Play It Again Sports the previous day and seeing their mitt, with a family member’s name written on the thumb, for sale.

An employee said the item would be released to the family with a police report and took the item out of inventory until that happened. The store owner used store records to name the person who’d brought the mitt and several other items in a few days prior. He provided all relevant information to the police and is keeping the items separate and out of inventory.

Burner left on causes smoke in building

A resident of a building on the 300 block of Desplaines Avenue called police on June 29 at 4:10 a.m. as smoke filled the hallway of the third floor of the building. He told the Forest Park Fire Department that a resident of the floor is elderly and he was concerned that resident might have left a burner on. The resident did not respond when fire fighters knocked on the door, so they forced the door open to gain entry. The reporting officer made contact with the resident, who was there and stated he was cooking black eyed peas and forgot to turn the stove off. The fire department cleared the smoke out of the unit and were able to temporarily resecure the damaged door.

Citation issued for loud music

On June 29 at 11:18 p.m., officers curbed a vehicle that was playing music loud enough to be heard at half a block away. The driver was issued a local ordinance citation for loud music and was given a court date in village chambers of Aug. 11.

Resident picks fight with bar patrons

A resident of the 7300 block of Madison Street allegedly initiated a confrontation with patrons of Forest Park Tap Room, 7321 Madison St., on June 29 at 11:44 p.m. Police officers stationed nearby heard a verbal altercation between the resident and bar patrons, whom they had observed exiting the bar about 45 minutes prior. According to the police report, the resident was “obviously the verbal aggressor,” because he was yelling down to the group from his balcony, telling them to “go back to where you came from.”

According to the police report, the resident and his wife are regular callers to the police department, often complaining about noise from Tap Room customers and videotaping them, claiming they’re unable to sleep because of the volume from crowds of the bar.

The police report indicates that the resident appeared intoxicated on this particular night during this particular incident.

A short time later, according to the police report, officers observed a disturbance on Circle Avenue and saw the resident fleeing the scene. Bar patrons said he had just attacked them with a chair. They said he approached them, was verbally aggressive, then allegedly grabbed a metal chair from the coffee shop on the corner of Circle Avenue and Madison Street and threw it, striking a woman in the arm in the process.

The subject was arrested, charged with battery, and has a court date in August.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, June 27-July 1, 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