A man tried to get onto the Forest Park ‘L’ terminal platform without paying, threatening to stab a security guard who tried to stop him.
On Oct. 31 at around 6:50 p.m., the man and his female companion arrived at the terminal. According to the security officers, some of the people hanging out at the bus boarding areas made lewd comments about the woman, which upset the man. He then tried to get through the turnstiles without paying by reaching over the handicapped turnstile gate, trying to hit the button in the back that would unlock it.
The security guards confronted the man. The man then pushed the turnstile door open, pinning one of the guards to the escalator wall to the north of the turnstiles. The man then lifted his shirt, pulled out a knife and threatened to stab the two.
By the time the police arrived, the man was on the platform, running west toward the ‘L’ train rail yard. He ignored the orders to stop, hopped off the platform onto the tracks and jumped down to the north bus boarding area entrance. He was last seen running north on Grove Lane.
The woman stayed on the scene, and told the officers that she just recently met the man, and didn’t know him.
Death threat
The ex-boyfriend of a Forest Park bulk mail sorting facility employee threatened to shoot his ex-girlfriend in the head after she ended her work shift.
According to Forest Park police, the man made the threatening call Nov. 5 at 10:26 p.m., saying that he would shoot her when she left work at 11 p.m. The victim had obtained an order of protection against him, but it had expired.
Inspectors worked with the police to make sure the victim got to her car and got home safely.
Thief caught
A 35-year-old Chicago man who stole $168 worth of items from the Forest Park Walmart was caught near the store.
On Oct. 30 at around 10:37 a.m., the 35-year-old Chicago man went into the store. The loss prevention employee saw him load two packs of bath tissues, two Gain laundry detergent containers, two Tide containers, an air mattress and a sweatshirt. When the employee asked for his receipt, the man kept walking past him. The man loaded the stolen merchandise into a blue 2019 Land Rover Discovery driven by a 37-year-old Chicago man, and the two drove off.
The police officers spotted the Land Rover parked in the northbound lane on the nearby stretch of Desplaines Avenue. When they spotted the police cars, the two races north on Desplaines Avenue. The police were able to stop the Land Rover near the Desplaines Avenue/Roosevelt Road intersection.
The driver admitted that he didn’t have a driver’s license. Both men said that the Land Rover belonged the 35-year-old man’s girlfriend. The driver claimed that he had no idea the items were stolen, and the other man claimed that he didn’t tell the driver.
Burglary
A woman living at the 1000 block of Ferdinand Avenue had two bicycles stolen from her garage overnight.
The victim discovered the theft on Nov. 1 at 7 a.m. She said that one bike was worth around $300, but she wasn’t sure what the other bike, a kids bike, was worth. She didn’t have the makes and models of either bicycle written down anywhere, and she didn’t have the photos of the bikes.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Oct. 29 to Nov. 5, 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
