A driver who came to Nobs Towing, 1420 Circle Ave., on July 19 around 2:30 p.m. got frustrated with the wait and ended up threatening the employee.

The man’s car was towed by the Stickney Police Department for being parked on the street during street sweeping. According to the Nobs employees, he became “more and more irate and hostile” as he waited for his car to get released. He reportedly said that “someone’s gonna get popped” and that, if he sees any Nobs truck driving by his house, “they were going to get it.”

The man left before police arrived. Officers tried to call him, by the calls went straight to voicemail. The police placed an extra watch on the towing company. 

Armed Robberies

Two incidents of people driving up to the victims and robbing them at gunpoint took place, but it’s not clear if they were connected.

On July 13 sometime after 2 a.m., a man drove into Thornton’s gas station, 601 S. Harlem Ave., to refuel. At 2:18 a.m., three men pulled up to the gas pump next to him in a black 2015 Kia Optima that had been stolen from Chicago two days earlier. The video footage captured two passengers getting out of the car and rummaging through the victim’s car. The victim claimed that the men pointed guns at him and demanded that he turn over his belongings. He said the robbers took his phone and two wallets. The video captured the two men getting back into the Kia and driving away, heading south on Harlem Avenue.

The same Kia was involved in multiple armed robberies in Berwyn later that night. Berwyn police gave chase, but ultimately terminated the pursuit in Chicago’s East Garfield Park community.

On July 18 around 2:46 a.m., a different man stopped at the intersection of Randolph Street and Elgin Avenue to check his phone when he saw headlights behind him. A black four-door Sedan of unknown make and model pulled up next to him. The victim said four men got out of the sedan and pointed guns at him, demanding that he get out of the car. They reportedly physically dragged the man out of his car and hit him with their guns. One of the attackers rummaged through his vehicle, threw out his dog and took his wallet. The men then drove off. 

The police report that the victim had multiple injuries on his head and arms, but the victim said he didn’t want to go to the hospital.

Dunkin Donuts robbery

A man robbed the Dunkin Donuts location at 7200 Circle Ave., spending two hours inside the shop allegedly waiting for the crowd to thin.

The employee said the robber entered the location on July 20 around 5 p.m. Around 6:50 p.m., when the store had no other customers, he approached the register, pulled a gun out of his waistband and told the employee to give him the money from the cash register. The employee complied, the man grabbed the money and fled, heading north on Harlem Avenue. 

While the police didn’t have surveillance footage available at the time of the report, another employee who was on duty during the robbery corroborated the account.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, July 13-23, 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