Police responded to My Best Friend Groom & Board on July 26 after a car crashed into the front of the business at 7626 Madison St. Police reported that the driver had slurred speech, smelled of alcohol, and that there was damage to the village’s concrete median on the 7600 block of Madison Street. The woman initially denied drinking but later told police she had two mixed drinks at her friend’s house, and police found an open bottle of Tito’s vodka in the car. She completed several standardized field sobriety tests, showing clues of impairment, so officers took her to the police department, where she provided a breath sample of .195 blood alcohol content. She was charged with driving under the influence, having a BAC above .08, illegal transportation of alcohol, operating a car that was uninsured and with suspended registration, a village ordinance violation and failure to reduce speed.
No business permit
On July 22, police responded to the 800 block of Elgin Avenue after a man called to say his neighbor was running a dog business out of his home. An employee of the business told police there were about 10 dogs inside and called the business owner, who told police he didn’t have a business license with the village. The man was given a citation for not having a business permit and for not having a dog license.
Burglary
Police were dispatched to USA Beverage at 7200 Madison Street on July 23 for a burglar alarm going off. The business owner also called the police and told them he saw two men in the store on the security camera. Police saw on nearby street cameras that the offenders drove off in a red SUV. At the store, police reported that two windows were broken and there were liquor bottles on the sidewalk. At the time of the police report, officials said it was unclear what the cost of stolen goods was. The business owner said they wanted to press charges if the offenders were located.
Also on July 23, police were dispatched to the U-Haul storage facility for a burglary. There, a man told police that he left the site the day before and locked both the storage container and trailer. That morning, he saw that both of the locks were cut off. The man reported that his power tools, estimated to cost $1,000, were missing.
Battery
On July 23, police responded to 1300 Des Plaines Ave. after a man in a ski mask came up to another man and started hitting him before driving off in a car. The victim and his friend said they were shopping at Walmart when a man who looked familiar to the victim started following them. When the two left the store, a man in a ski mask attacked, hitting the victim several times in the face before getting in a car and driving away. Police checked license plate cameras and located the car before it headed eastbound on the Eisenhower. They went to the home of the offending car owner, who told police he hit the man at Walmart because he made a disrespectful social media post about his family. He was charged with battery.
Police were dispatched to the area of Des Plaines Avenue and Harrison Street on July 26. A witness said she was driving down the street with her friend and saw a woman being followed by an oddly behaving man, according to the police report. The friends stopped the car and asked the woman if she was okay, and she answered ‘no,’ so they told her to get in the car as the man continued walking. The woman told police that the man grabbed her arm and tried to guide her to the Blue Line stop before letting go. She is a juvenile and was returned to the house of her grandfather, who said he’d sign complaints if the man was located. Her mother said she’d also sign complaints.
Robbery
Police were dispatched to Harlem and Jackson on July 24 for a fight. There, a man said he was waiting at the bus stop at 701 S. Harlem Ave. when an unknown man stopped to ask him for money or food. The men walked together to True Discount Food Mart. Upon leaving, the man held $140 in his hand that the offender tried to grab while the victim ran away. The offender caught the man in the 600 block of Harlem Avenue and hit him several times before taking the money and fleeing. According to the police report, the victim had a red and swollen face with cuts on his arms and hands. The offender had not been identified at the time that the police report was created.
Delivering cannabis
While on patrol on July 25, police saw a Hyundai parked by Thornton’s gas station with its trunk open. They watched as two men and a woman held containers consistent with cannabis packaging and lean before getting into another car. The cars exited the gas station, and police pulled over the Hyundai because the driver wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Police pulled over the car on I-290, where they saw and smelled cannabis inside. The car’s occupants were asked to get out of the car, and inside, police found codeine and over 75 grams of cannabis. The driver, who had over $7,000 of cash on him, was charged with having an expired license, not wearing a seatbelt, possession of a controlled substance and of cannabis over 30 grams, possession of cannabis outside an approved container, two counts of delivering cannabis over 30 grams, and possession with intent to deliver over 30 grams of cannabis.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated July 21 through July 27 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.