While on patrol May 28, police received a tip that a gold minivan was going to sell heroin in Forest Park. According to the police report, officers received five similar tips through the online tip hotline in May from someone related to those involved in the narcotics activities. Police pulled over the van in the 1200 block of Circle Avenue. They smelled cannabis coming from the car, saw some in the console and asked the driver and passenger to get out of the car. The passenger couldn’t give police an explanation about where they were going, other than to visit the driver’s “people.” Upon questioning the driver, police saw suspected additional narcotics in his pants and asked him to put them on the hood of the car. The man attempted to run, but police caught him and brought him to the ground, where he attempted to crawl away. Police found suspected heroin and crack cocaine on him and found crack cocaine on the car’s passenger. Both the driver and passenger were charged with two counts of delivering a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. The driver was also charged with aggravated battery of a police officer – two officers sustained pain, bruising and cuts to their arms and legs – possession of cannabis and having tinted windows that are too dark.  

Burglary 

Police were dispatched to the intersection of Beloit and Harvard on May 27 for a suspicious vehicle. The caller told police that a Jeep Cherokee with Indiana plates was circling the block, stopped next to a work van and tried to open its doors. The caller was unsure if they took anything from the van, and Oak Park police told Forest Park police that the car was involved in alleged auto burglaries in Oak Park. Shortly thereafter, Forest Park police were dispatched to the 800 block of Beloit Avenue, where a landscaping employee told police he left his car windows down and that his lunch, wallet, cellphone, keys and $6,600 of cash were missing. The offenders hadn’t been located at the time the police report was made.  

Police responded to the 7-Eleven at 205 Harlem Ave. on May 29 just after 5 a.m. for a burglary. The store clerk told police that two men came in. One pointed a gun at him and demanded money. The employee gave him about $30 in one-dollar bills, then the two fled north down Harlem Avenue. The offenders hadn’t yet been located at the time the police report was drawn up.  

Suspicious circumstances 

Police were dispatched to a Harlem Avenue residence on May 27 for a potential burglary. There, a couple told police they were moving, left their home on May 22, and when they returned five days later, discovered their front door unlocked. Police saw a missing screw from the lock. Though the couple reported nothing was missing from the house, the woman found a white handkerchief that didn’t belong to her in her bedroom.  

Vehicular hijacking  

Police responded to Crystal Carwash on May 27 for an aggravated vehicular hijacking. There, a man reported that two men in ski masks approached him on foot. One pulled out a gun, held it to his torso, rummaged through his pockets and stole his wallet and keys. The victim and several witnesses saw the men and the car drive east down I-290. Video footage confirms the interaction, and the man said he’d sign complaints if his car was found.  
 

Possession of controlled substance  

At about 10:30 a.m. on May 28, police responded to the CTA Blue Line station after someone reported a man wielding a box cutter and threatening to kill people. Security identified the man, who was walking away when police arrived. They handcuffed him and searched his pockets to find the box cutter, suspect cocaine and drug paraphernalia. Security officers told police that they saw the man waving the box cutter, sharpening a popsicle stick and threatening to kill everyone. At the police station, the man said that, because he is bipolar and has other mental health issues, he often talks to himself and wasn’t directing his words at, or meaning harm toward, anyone. He said he was on a treatment plan to stop taking the drugs that were on him, but recently relapsed. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia.  

Missing people 

On May 29, police responded to the 7300 block of Madison Street to help two young men and two young women asking for directions after a caller told police they said they’d run away from home. The four juveniles told police they’d run away from a children’s home in Evanston. They were returned there without incident.  

These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated May 27 through May 29 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.