A 40-year-old Morris man tried to get his car out of Nobs Towing tow yard, 1510 Hannah Ave., without paying the fee, allegedly threatening employees with a gun.
The alleged offender came to Nobs on Dec. 8 at 4:04 a.m. to get his grey 2008 Chevrolet Silverado, which was towed by the Stickney Police Department earlier that night. After the employees told him he had to pay a fee, telling him that there was a nearby ATM where he could get cash, the man became upset. He asked whether he could get some personal property from the car, and the employees replied that they couldn’t allow that due to company policy.
The alleged offender smashed the front window with his fist, shattering it. One of the employees said he was calling the police. The man started walking away, but the employees advised him to stay put. The alleged offender turned around and pointed a gun toward them.
The man subsequently told the police that he pulled out a gun because one of the employees was coming at him with a baseball bat. Said employee acknowledged having a bat but denied that he tried to approach the man.
The alleged offender left, but the police caught up with him a few blocks away and he surrendered without incident. He was charged with one count of criminal damage to property and released on I-bond.
Fraud prevention scam
A woman had $3,600 stolen by a man claiming to be part of her bank’s fraud prevention service.
On Nov. 7 at 4:58 p.m., the victim received a text purporting to report a suspicious Walmart transaction. A man claiming to represent Citibank’s fraud department then called her, saying that, in order to reverse the fraudulent charge, she would need to transfer money from her savings account into a checking account.
The victim asked about his employee ID number, the scammer said that he was calling from the Citibank customer service number. The number on the caller ID matched said number, but he could have spoofed it.
The scammer asked her to transfer $2,500 using the Zelle digital payment application. Leery, the victim transferred $25, then the $2,500.
The victim then received a notification from Citibank for a fraudulent $3,600 transfer. She filed the report with the real fraud department, but her claim was denied because she used her own credentials to log into Zelle. The victim requested a police report as part of the appeal.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Dec 5-9, 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
