A man who allegedly robbed a Forest Park convenience store at gunpoint on the afternoon of Feb. 10 was able to elude police after a chase that ended when the offender ditched the vehicle he was driving near Central Avenue and Jackson Boulevard in Chicago and fled on foot.

Officers responded to 7-Eleven, 205 Harlem Ave., just after 4 p.m. in response to a holdup alarm activated at the store. An employee reportedly told police a man wearing a puffy coat and blue surgical gloves came to the counter, displayed a silver handgun and demanded cash from the registers.

The offender fled, but a GPS tracker placed in the bag of money led police eastbound on Washington Boulevard where Oak Park and Forest Park police began pursuing a vehicle. Police recovered the abandoned vehicle near Central and Jackson, but police were unable to apprehend the alleged offender in a foot pursuit.

  • A man who allegedly robbed a clerk at 7-Eleven, 7749 Roosevelt Road, on Feb. 5, reportedly returned two days later and did it again, Forest Park police reported.

The victim called police on Feb. 7 just before 9 p.m. to report that the same person — a thin Black male in his 20s, wearing a black hoodie, black pants, blue latex gloves and blue surgical mask — who robbed the store on Feb. 5 walked in, asked for a pack of cigars and told the clerk “he should know what to do.”

The offender did not display a weapon but implied he was armed by keeping one hand inside his pocket. The clerk handed over about $100 and the offender fled eastbound on Roosevelt Road.

Aggravated domestic battery

Chaton K. Luckett, 30, of Chicago was charged with one count of aggravated domestic battery, a felony, after she allegedly assaulted him with a box cutter and then reportedly struck him over the head with a two-by-four during an altercation at the man’s home in the 800 block of Marengo Avenue on the morning of Feb. 12.

According to the police report, the victim told police he had ended his relationship with Luckett a couple of days earlier and told her she wasn’t welcome in his home.

On Feb. 12 about 10 a.m., the victim told police he was sleeping when he was awakened by Luckett sitting next to him. At that time, the victim alleged that Luckett threw salt in his face and began punching him in the face and body.

The victim was able to push Luckett away but realized she was holding a box cutter and that he’d sustained multiple lacerations to his face and hands. While the victim exited the front door in order to get away from Luckett, she reportedly struck him over the head with what he described as a two-by-four piece of wood.

He drove away into Oak Park, where he was located by police in the 1100 block of Garfield Street. Oak Park paramedics transported the victim to the hospital. Chicago police arrested Luckett without incident at her Chicago residence on the afternoon of Feb. 13 and turned her over to Forest Park police.

Catalytic converters stolen

Catalytic converter thieves were back at it in Forest Park last week, cutting the devices from the undercarriages of at least four vehicles, sometimes in broad daylight.

A resident of the 800 block of Desplaines Avenue reported that someone removed the catalytic converter from his 2003 Honda Accord during the overnight hours of Feb. 6-7. Meanwhile, a resident of the 1000 block of Desplaines Avenue reported the catalytic converter from his 2007 Honda Accord was stolen during the overnight hours of Feb. 7-8.

Two other incidents occurred during the daytimes hours at large retail center parking lots. In one incident, someone removed the catalytic converter from a 2017 Land Rover parked in the west lot of Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave. between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Feb. 7.

Finally, a man called police just after noon on Feb. 8 to report that a co-worker witnessed someone remove the catalytic converter from his 2006 Honda Element, which was parked in the lot behind the Forest Park Plaza shopping center at 7540 Roosevelt Road.

Just prior to noon, the co-worker reportedly saw a sedan pull up next to the victim’s vehicle. A man wearing mechanic’s overalls and a hoodie got out and ducked down out of sight. Then the driver of the sedan opened the trunk and the men put something in the trunk before driving away.

Theft

A resident of the 7300 block of Roosevelt Road, called police on Feb. 7 to report the theft of packages on two different dates in January.

The victim said UPS delivered a package containing an Xbox controller to his address on Jan. 22 but when he went to retrieve the package it was gone. On Jan. 26, UPS delivered another package, this one containing an Xbox Series 6 digital console, but it was also missing when the victim went to retrieve it.

A 73-year-old woman went to police on Feb. 7 to report that while she was on a CTA Blue Line train, someone took her purse and fled at the Harlem Avenue stop. The purse contained IDs, a credit card and more than $600 in cash.

Alleged drug funds seized

Forest Park police seized $12,500 in cash and recovered six bag of cannabis during a routine traffic stop on Feb. 9 about 12:10 a.m. in the 700 block of Harlem Avenue.

Police stopped the silver 2016 Cadillac due to having tinted windows and following too closely behind another vehicle. Police pulled over the vehicle and interviewed the driver, a 19-year-old Chicago man, as well as two passengers.

Police reported recovering bags of cannabis from the passengers and the driver as well as in the center console of the vehicle. The driver had $500 on his person. Another $11,000 was found inside a backpack.

The 18- and 19-year-old passengers were cited for possession of cannabis. The driver was charged with possession and delivery of cannabis.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Feb. 7-10, 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