A teen who stole a silver 2016 Hyundai Sonata left a trail of several damaged cars as he tried to flee Oak Park and Forest Park police officers on a chase through the two villages.
The car was stolen on Feb. 2. Oak Park police tracked the car via GPS to the 300 block of South Harlem Avenue. As police converged at around 8:13 p.m. the driver entered the nearby Chipotle parking lot. As the two police departments tried to contain him, he fled north toward Washington Boulevard, heading east into Oak Park.
The alleged thief kept driving east on Washington Boulevard, disregarding traffic lights, and, at one point, driving east in the westbound lane before driving onto a lawn at Kenilworth Avenue and heading north.
The thief used Randolph Street to reach Grove Avenue, then headed back south toward Washington Boulevard. It caused an accident, hitting several vehicles on the 400 block of South Grove Avenue. At this point, two teens fled the stolen vehicle. The driver was apprehended on the 400 block of Kenilworth Avenue, but the officers couldn’t find the passenger.
The alleged thief was taken to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. He was charged with motor vehicle theft and attempting to elude arrest.
Harassment
A former Forest Park Chipotle employee allegedly harassed his former manager and threatened to shoot himself after she rejected his advances.
The victim said the suspect propositioned her via text messages. After the victim said she wasn’t interested, the suspect sent threatening text messages and called her. When the victim blocked his number, the suspect used his relative’s phone.
On Feb. 2, at 6:47 p.m., the suspect confronted the victim while she was leaving work, yelling from across the parking lot to come over and talk to him. When the victim refused, he mimed a gun with his hand and placed it against his head, and shouted threats.
The victim gave police the suspect’s contact information. He wasn’t arrested at the time of the report.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Jan 30 – Feb. 6, 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
