A 36-year-old Romeoville man, arrested for drunk driving, didn’t break out of his jail cell — but he damaged the door enough to render it “inoperable,” requiring over $2,000 in repairs.
On July 24, at 12:17 a.m., a police officer on routine patrol spotted a maroon 2015 Chrysler 300 speeding west on Roosevelt Road. As the officer raced after it, the car turned north on 1st Avenue, ignoring red lights and turned west on Harrison Street. The officer stopped the car on the 900 block of Harrison Street in Maywood.
The officer observed that the driver, from Romeoville, and his passenger, a 37-year-old Chicago man, slurred their words and had red, glassy eyes. They subsequently admitted they have been drinking. The passenger also had a Smith & Wesson handgun, and while he had a Firearm Owner Identification card, he didn’t have a Concealed Carry License.
Both men were arrested, the driver charged with speeding and drunk driving, and the passenger charged with carrying a gun without a license and not wearing a seatbelt. Both were cited for having open liquor bottles in the car, and both were jailed.
The Romeoville man kept kicking the cell door, which “destroyed the locking mechanism,” loosened the deadbolt lock and bent the door itself. The village contractor estimated it would cost $2,300 to fix the door.
This got the man from Romeoville charged with damaging government property on top of all the other charges.
Retail robbery
Forest Park police tracked a man, who allegedly robbed a 7-Eleven location at 205 Harlem Ave., to Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood, ultimately apprehending him.
The 31-year-old Chicago man reportedly robbed the store on July 29 at 6:12 a.m. The stolen cash had a tracking device, which led the police to the 5000 block of South Indiana Avenue in Chicago. The tracker had an alarm that could be activated on command, allowing police to locate it.
Police surrounded a three-flat building where the tracker last broadcast from and waited for reinforcements before activating it. They spotted a man matching the robber’s description moving at the rear of the building. He was caught and arrested.
The search of a second-story unit revealed cash and a handgun spread out on the kitchen table. The man was charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon as a felon.
Armed Robbery
A man was robbed at gunpoint on the morning of July 26 as he walked to work.
The victim was walking east on Washington when he spotted the robber heading in the opposite direction. He cut through the alley on the 7400 block of Washington Street, but the robber caught up with him, reportedly flashing a silver handgun and demanding his belongings. The victim gave the robber his wallet, phone and a backpack with a rain jacket and a cookbook. The perpetrator was last seen running west on Washington.
The police tried to track the victim’s phone, but it was turned off.
Vehicle Theft
A blue 2020 Hyundai Tucson was stolen from under the condo building in the 1000 block of Desplaines Avenue as one of the neighbors watched.
The building has parking spaces in the partially open area on the first floor. On July 28, at 5:40 p.m., the witness, another resident, was coming out of the lobby when he spotted two teens “frantically” trying to start the victim’s car. The witness noticed that one of the windows was shattered. He walked to his own car and, when he turned around, the Hyundai was gone.
The car has been flagged as stolen, and the victim said he would press charges if the thieves are caught.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, July 24-29, 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
