On Sept. 3, police responded to the 1000 block of the Harlem-Elgin alleyway around 4 a.m. for reports of shots fired. But when they arrived at the scene, they found no evidence of shots fired or a victim. Shortly after, police were alerted of an uncooperative victim with a gunshot wound on his back at Loyola University Medical Center. Though officials in the police report say the man didn’t answer many questions, he told police that he was walking home from a night out and standing in the yard of an Elgin property when he heard gunshots, then was hit by a single bullet. The man told police he didn’t want to file a complaint and did not want the Forest Park Police Department to investigate the shooting. He refused to provide identity or contact information to police or the hospital.
Motor vehicle theft
Police reported they ran a check on a 1999 white Buick in the 600 block of Harlem Avenue Sept. 4 to discover it was stolen from Chicago. Police said they attempted to pull over the car, but the driver erratically wove through traffic to get away. Police followed without their sirens before again attempting to curb the vehicle. The Buick drove about 30 miles an hour over the speed limit before stopping in an alley. Two men got out of the car and ran in opposite directions. After police pursued the driver on foot and gave him verbal commands to stop, he laid on the ground and police took him to the station. Police reported they recovered two vials of crack cocaine on him. The passenger was also taken into custody. The driver was charged with motor vehicle theft, attempting to elude a police officer and resisting an officer, possession of a controlled substance, having no driver’s license, speeding, as well as for two active warrants out of Cook County. The passenger was charged with criminal trespassing to a vehicle and resisting an officer.
Disorderly conduct
On Sept. 5, police responded to the Forest Park Blue Line CTA station for reports of a man on the train with a gun in his waistband. Upon arrival, police ordered the man to step off the train and detained him. They recovered a large and small knife from the man’s waistband, and he was arrested for disorderly conduct.
Fraud
A man came to the police department Sept. 6 to report a stolen rent check. He told police that on July 1, he placed a $570 check in a rent check box on Des Plaines Avenue. On Sept. 5, his landlord told him he hadn’t received July rent, although the man’s bank showed the check was cashed. The man said he would sign complaints if the offender is located.
Assault
Police were dispatched to the intersection of Roosevelt Road and 1st Avenue Sept. 6 for a disturbance on a PACE bus. The bus driver told police she heard someone hit the back right rear of the bus before coming to the front of the bus. When the driver didn’t let the man get on the bus, he punched the bus door, spat on it, and pulled what looked like a knife out of his bag, according to the police report. The bus driver drove off and called the police. She told them her PACE manager needed a copy of the report for documentation purposes.
Open alcohol
Just before midnight, while patrolling the 7600 block of Madison Street — an area that police receive frequent complaints about because of people consuming alcohol and cannabis in their cars outside of Mugsy’s bar, according to the police report — police saw a woman drinking suspect liquor in a car’s passenger seat. A man exited the car with the cup, dumped its contents and threw it on the street. Police picked up the cup, which smelled like liquor. The man and woman were visibly intoxicated and argumentative, according to the police report. The man received a citation for open alcohol and littering, while the woman was charged with only the former.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated September 3 through September 7 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.