On July 2, police responded to the 900 block of Troost Avenue after a caller saw a man trying to break into a unit and a woman lying on the sidewalk nearby. Police addressed the woman, who said she didn’t need help. Police saw a man matching the caller’s description running away, and they ordered him to stop, but he ignored them. Police caught him in the 7600 block of Polk Street, where they ordered him to get on the ground, and he complied. Video evidence from a witness shows the man standing on a chair, using a knife to pry open a window, then climbing through it. The witness told police that the unit has been vacant for about a month. The offender told police he was friends with the unit’s renter, who was in the hospital or rehab, and was retrieving their personal property. He said he exited through another window by breaking it. The building owner said he wanted to sign complaints, and the man was charged with criminal trespassing, resisting officers and criminal damage to property.
Landlord-tenant dispute
Police responded to a residence in the 7400 block of Washington Street on the evening of June 30, where the landlord said a tenant was running a gas-powered generator on the roof of the building. Police saw the generator and addressed the tenant, who told them the landlord cut power to his unit and is attempting to evict him. According to the tenant’s ComEd bill that he showed police, he owes the company about $140, but there was no evidence his service was interrupted. Police reported that they’d previously been dispatched to the address for the dispute and that the tenant was previously arrested for burglary. The tenant agreed to take down the generator, but a few hours later, the landlord called police to report the man turned the generator on again. The man agreed to give the generator to the police temporarily, and the landlord said he’s have an electrician service his unit as soon as possible. No one was charged.
On July 2, police returned to the property after the tenant reported that he came home to find the electrical cord to the generator cut. He said he didn’t have power in his second-story unit and was running a cord out the window to the generator on the ground. A witness told police that he saw a man near the cord and would likely be able to identify him. The landlord told police he didn’t cut the cord. No one was charged.
Suspicious circumstances
A woman reported to police that she was at the Mobil station on Roosevelt Road on July 1 to purchase tobacco products and, after the clerk asked for her identification, he said he was required to take a photo of her Illinois ID. The woman complied but, a few hours later, returned to the Mobil to ask the man to delete the photo from his phone, though he was no longer working. After addressing the on-shift clerk, police returned to the Mobil when the offending employee was working again the following day. Then, the man told police that he was given a citation in April for selling tobacco products to a minor, and that he was scared by the presence of a Cook County Sheriff car in the parking lot when the woman came into the Mobil. He told police he deleted the photo and showed them his phone. No one was charged.
Battery
On July 1, police responded to the Old School Records store after two people got into a heated exchange about politics on the premises. The victim told police that the offender started approaching him aggressively, attempted to punch him twice, then put his hands around the man’s neck. The victim said he punched the man in the mouth in self-defense and didn’t want to sign complaints. The store owner told police the offender is his friend and often frequents the store. He witnessed the interaction and said, while the man has been argumentative with customers before, it’s never turned violent. The store owner said he didn’t want the man trespassed but would if his behavior continued. No one was charged.
Aggravated discharge of a firearm
Police were dispatched to the 600 block of Marengo Avenue on July 2 for a domestic disturbance after a woman called and said her ex-boyfriend tracked her location. There, the man said he was shot at multiple times outside the residence after trying to speak with the woman about withholding disability benefits for their child, who has autism. The man said, when he arrived at the residence, a man came out of the second-floor unit with a handgun and discharged six bullets in his direction. The woman told police that she provides disability benefits to their child and denied any shooting. While surveying the area, police found four bullet casings. No one was charged.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated June 30 through July 3 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.