A woman was robbed as she was returning home to her apartment in the 200 block of Marengo Avenue. The robber then used the stolen keys to take off in her car. 

The victim was returning home, Jan. 19, around 12:50 a.m. As she got out of her car, a white 2023 Hyundai Sedan, she noticed the suspect walking. The victim rushed to the building, but the suspect reportedly stopped her from closing the door using his arm. The suspect then allegedly forced the victim to lie down on the lobby bench and patted her down, stealing her car keys and her phone. He then forced the victim to exit and told her to run up the street as he used the car keys to drive off. 

The police found the car left in the parking lot on the south side of the building, but the keys and the victim’s phone were still missing. Another officer discovered a dark green jacket, which looked like the one that the suspect was reportedly wearing, in the 300 block of Marengo Avenue, and the key was subsequently recovered as well. 

A village camera at the intersection of Madison Street and Circle Avenue captured a man matching the suspect’s description heading south on Circle Avenue. The police weren’t able to obtain the lobby security camera footage at the time of the report.

Stolen firearm

A man had his gun stolen from a locker at the Roos Recreation Center, 7329 Harrison St., at some point in the afternoon of Jan. 20. 

The victim, who has a valid Firearm Owner Identification Card and a Concealed Carry License, came in with a friend. He had his black Glock 23 .40 caliber gun in his backpack, which he stored in the Roos locker. The gun wasn’t loaded, and it had a gun lock, but he had a loaded 12-round magazine stored separately in the backpack. 

The victim discovered the gun missing from the backpack when he returned around 6 p.m. He said nothing else was missing from the locker. The victim said his friend knew the gun was in the locker, and the friend left before him, around 3 p.m.

Mail thefts

Two homeowners in the 7700 block of Monroe Street had someone go through their mail overnight Jan. 19-20, stealing a bank statement.

The suspect went to the house’s front porch and opened several pieces of mail, but only one letter — a bank statement — was missing. The suspect also pried open the neighbor’s mail box, opening several pieces of mail. While a tax statement from the second victim’s credit union was taken out of the mailbox, it was not taken. 

The police have been checking the footage from the doorbell cameras on the block. 

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Jan. 17-22, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

Compiled by Igor Studenkov