A man in his 20s stole a black 2017 Hyundai while its owner was cleaning it.
On the afternoon of April 30, the victim drove to Crystal Car Wash, 901 Harlem Ave. At around 2:09 p.m., the victim was vacuuming his car on the passenger side when a man got in. The victim initially assumed that the man simply got into the wrong car, only to watch him drive off. The thief raced out of the car wash lot and fled south in the alley between Harlem and Elgin avenues.
The victim said he wasn’t injured and he didn’t require medical attention – but that he would press charges if the thief is located.
Burglary of gas station
A burglar broke into the Citgo gas station at 7323 Randolph St. on May 2 at around 1:17 a.m., stealing cash and merchandise.
By the time police arrived in response to a burglar alarm, the burglar was gone. The officers found that the burglar used a large rock to shatter the front door, After making sure the building was clear, the officers found the clerk room was broken into. The cash register was pulled open, and most of $780 in cash was missing. The burglar also took a box of change from the cabinet in the clerk room, which had $500 in coins.
The gas station owner confirmed that cigarettes, cigars and “other merchandise” was missing. He had no idea how much the merchandise was worth.
None of the cameras at the business worked, and there weren’t any other cameras in the area that could have captured the incident.
Battery
A 45-year-old Chicago man was charged with battery after he got into a woman’s personal space and grabbed her buttocks as she tried to get away.
On May 3, the victim was biking near the intersection of Madison Street and Desplaines Avenue. As she dismounted at the southeast corner of the intersection, the man tried to talk to her. The victim told him to back up several times. As she got back on the bike, the man grabbed her buttocks and headed south on Desplaines Avenue.
The victim crossed the street and called the police. The officers spotted a man matching the man’s description a short distance away and detained him.
The man was charged with one count of battery. He was unable to post bail.
Catalytic converter thefts
Forest Park saw two more catalytic converter thefts from the same model car in the past two weeks.
The first theft took place overnight between April 23 to 24, but it wasn’t reported until May 1. The victim parked the car, a silver 2011 Hyundai Tucson, on the 7500 block of Jackson Boulevard.
The second theft happened on May 4 at the Proviso Math & Science Academy. 8601 Roosevelt Rd. The victim, a student at the school, drove her green 2011 Hyundai Tucson to school and parked it in the school parking lot. When she drove back home at around 2:45 p.m., she realized that her car sounded “irregular.” The victim didn’t realize what happened until she got home and asked her family members for advice.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, April 30 -May 7, 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
