An officer on patrol spotted a battery in progress, leading the police to quickly apprehend the alleged offender.
The incident took place on Sept. 17 at 11:17 p.m., at the Pace Route 318 bus stop at 420 Desplaines Ave. The officer saw a woman sitting on the bus shelter bench, and a teen leaning over her. Worried that it might be a robbery in progress, he pulled into the McDonalds parking lot behind the bus stop and heard the woman yelling and trying to fight the teen off. The alleged offender tried to leave, but the officer detained him.
The victim told the officer that the teen sat next to her, then grabbed her by her hair and put his hands in the back of her pants. The victim confirmed that the detained teen, who was from Chicago, was the alleged assailant.
The teen was charged with one count of battery, and he was returned to the custody of his mother later that evening.
Theft from Airbnb
A visitor from Nevada allegedly had his laptop stolen while staying at an Airbnb unit on the 7600 block of Roosevelt Road.
The victim said he’s being staying in a room with a lock that was rented out via the Airbnb short-term rental platform. He said that on Sept. 15 he left the room at 9 a.m., locking the door behind him. When he returned at around 11 p.m., the victim discovered that the laptop was missing. He believed that the Airbnb managers were the only two other people who had keys to the unit.
The victim said he only knew the managers’ first names, but he provided their contact information. He estimated that his laptop, a grey Dell, was worth around $600. The victim said that he would be able to provide the serial number once he returned home.
Recovered stolen vehicle
A black 2017 Hyundai Tucson stolen in Cicero on Sept. 2 turned up abandoned in a Village of Forest Park parking lot 12 days later.
The vehicle was discovered in village-owned parking lot #1, which is located south of the intersection of Madison Street and Ferdinand Avenue, on Sept. 14 at 11:22 a.m. Its rear passenger window was shattered, the steering column was pealed, there was damage on the passenger side of the car, and the front driver’s side window was partially down.
After confirming that the vehicle was reported stolen, the officers had the car towed to Nob’s Towing lot until the owner could be contacted.
Identity Thefts
On Sept. 12, a 28-year-old woman reported that, on Sept. 7, someone opened a Bank of America credit card account in her name. After receiving an alert from her bank app, she contacted the bank, which informed her that someone filled out the application online using her personal information. The victim had her account frozen.
On Sept. 15, a 71-year-old man reported there were two instances of someone trying to apply for auto loans in his name. An attempt to apply for a loan with TD Auto Finance didn’t succeed because the company wasn’t able to verify the applicant’s identity. A perpetrator was able to get a $67,000 loan from Chase Auto to purchase a 2021 BMX X5.
The victim notified Chase Auto that he didn’t apply for the loan, and it requested a police report for documentation.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Sept. 12-18, 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 Igor Studenkov
