On Feb. 13, police responded to Elgin Avenue after contractors for Westwork, a painting and remodeling company, called to report a burglary. The contractors told police they left the residence the previous evening and locked the doors. But when they returned the following morning, they noticed several items strewn across the first floor, including a gun case. The basement door appeared to be forced open, according to the police report. The contractors said that about $3,500 worth of tools were missing. The contractors said they would file complaints if the offender was located.
Criminal damage to property
While on patrol Feb. 7, police saw a man driving down Madison Street while using his phone and without a seatbelt. Police pulled the man over and, while they discovered his license was suspended, the man got out of his car and ignored orders to get back in it. The man repeatedly resisted police while they handcuffed him, and his breath smelled of alcohol, according to the police report. During the struggle, the man pushed off the squad car, causing a dent estimated to cost nearly $2,500 to repair. The man was charged with two counts of resisting an officer, driving under the influence of alcohol, having a suspended license, unlawful use of a cell phone, not wearing a seat belt, and criminal damage to property.
Possession of controlled substance
On Feb. 8, police were dispatched to the CTA Blue Line Forest Park stop for a battery. There, a man told police that an unknown man came up to him on the train, stole $100 from him, then punched him in the head. When police made contact with the offender, he told them he hit the man in self-defense. At the police station, officers found two bags of suspected heroin on the offender, along with paraphernalia used to ingest narcotics – but no money – according to the police report. The man told police that he was riding the train when the reported victim asked him for heroin, then continued to follow him and demand more after the man gave him some. The offender was charged with battery, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia. When police went to Loyola Hospital to talk with the victim, he appeared to be under the influence of narcotics and told them he was homeless, but the altercation had nothing to do with heroin.
Stalking
A woman came to the police station Feb. 12 to report that her ex-boyfriend was stalking her. She told police that, earlier that month, she broke up with him, and he moved to Michigan. The woman reported that her ex-boyfriend threatened suicide if she didn’t take him back, then contacted her friends and family when she blocked him. She told police that mail from her Beloit Avenue apartment’s mailbox was missing, and that she was starting to fear for her safety. The woman didn’t have a local address for her ex-boyfriend, but police informed her about how to get an order of protection, according to the police report.
Battery
A supervisor at the Chicago Bulk Mail Center came to the police department Feb. 12. He told police that one of the center’s employees returned from his break late and smelled of alcohol. But when the supervisor tried to escort him out, the man became belligerent and threatening before punching the supervisor in the face, according to the police report. At the time that the police report was filed, police had not yet located the offender.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated Feb. 7 through Feb. 13 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.