Forest Park police officers tried to help their colleagues in other area departments chase down a man suspected of a murder in Broadview and making a threatening call to Forest Park’s Living World Christian Center, 7600 Roosevelt Rd.
According to the Cook County Coroner’s report, Pierre Johnson, a 39-year-old Broadview man, died of multiple gunshot wounds. He was shot on the morning of Feb. 23.
On Feb. 25, at around 1:21 a.m. local police got a call about a suspect in that case heading east on the Eisenhower Expressway in a white 2020 Nissan Altima, with a Bellwood Police Department patrol car in pursuit. By the time the chase reached Forest Park, a Maywood police car joined in the chase. The Forest Park patrol car joined the chase at the Harlem Avenue on-ramp.
The suspect exited the Eisenhower at Central Avenue and headed south. While the Maywood officers stopped the pursuit, Forest Park and Bellwood officers maintained the chase as the suspect turned east on Roosevelt Road. The officers lost sight of the vehicle at the Roosevelt Road and Cicero Avenue intersection.
Chicago police subsequently found the suspect’s car abandoned in the Austin neighborhood, on the 4800 block of Polk Street.
Stolen gun
A nightclub promoter had his gun and a magazine with 17 bullets stolen from his car sometime in February.
The victim said he kept his Glock 22 handgun in his car, a 2004 Dodge. He discovered the theft on the morning of Feb. 22, when he headed out to a shooting range and checked the car’s gun case. The victim’s car was parked in front of his residence in the 300 block of Desplaines Avenue, and there was no sign of forced entry.
The victim said the gun could have been stolen at any point between then and the night of Feb. 9. He said that, in that time, he gave “multiple acquaintances” rides, and there have been times when they drove him home when he was drunk. The victim said he only knew them by their nicknames, so he couldn’t provide much identifying information.
The victim said he would press charges if the thief is located.
Stolen wallet
A customer at the Planet Fitness location at 7530 Roosevelt Rd. had his wallet stolen from the gym’s locker.
The victim said the theft happened when he visited the gym on Feb. 21, between 4:50 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. He left the wallet in a locker. The wallet had around $143 in cash, state ID, a driver’s license, a debit card and multiple credit cards.
The victim said he cancelled all his credit cards as soon as he discovered the theft. He didn’t see any suspicious transactions.
Liquor store shoplifting
A woman ran out of the Cardinal Liquors store on Roosevelt Road with five liquor bottles valued at a total of $180.95.
The suspect entered the liquor store on Feb. 24 at 12:44 p.m. According to a store employee, she put two bottles of Avion Tequila, a bottle of Ciroc vodka, a bottle of Casamigos tequila and a bottle of 1800 tequila and put them in a basket. But instead of paying for them, she ran outside and got into a waiting car – a black Chevy Trailblazer with a temporary license plate. The car fled east on Roosevelt Road.
Confrontation at Starbucks
A woman tried to chase down a car driven by a man who, she claims, shouted a racial slur at her and damaged her car’s window.
The woman said that, on Feb. 23, at around 9:20 a.m., she drove up to a Starbucks location at 7231 Madison St. to pick up her order. As she parked in front of the store, a driver parked behind her allegedly shouted a sarcastic comment about her ability to park, ending it with a racial slur. The woman, who belongs to the racial group the slur referred to, gave the man a middle finger and went inside.
As the woman went back to her car, she thought she saw the man’s car, a silver 2009 Honda Odyssey, was now alongside her car, a dark blue 2017 Mercedes-Benz. The woman believed that the man might have pushed the passenger side mirror in, but she didn’t actually see him do it.
The woman said she yelled at the man and threw her coffee at the car. The man drove off, and the woman chased the vehicle down until she was able to take a picture of its license plate number with her phone.
The woman said she didn’t want to press charges, but she filed the police report because it was her favorite Starbucks location and she was worried about her safety.
When contacted by police, the man acknowledged that he made a derisive comment about the woman’s parking skills, but he denied using a racial slur. He also denied damaging the woman’s car, and alleged that she threw multiple items at his car while driving after him.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Feb. 20-26, 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
