Police responded to Jimmy’s Tobacco at 315 Harlem Ave. on Oct. 15 around 5:30 a.m. after the burglar alarm went off. Police reported that the glass door was shattered and metal bars behind it were damaged, but no one was inside the business. The owner of the business told police that the ATM was stolen, along with $50 from the cash register. At the time of the report, police said they’d contact the ATM owner and review surveillance footage, and the owner said he’d sign complaints if the offender was located.
Animal cruelty
Police were dispatched to 7600 W. Roosevelt Rd. on Oct. 11 after getting a call that someone saw three dogs in a cage near Enterprise Car Rental. Police located the cage in bushes with three chihuahuas in it. The animals were taken to the Animal Care League for further evaluation and care.
Welfare check
Police visited a Beloit Avenue residence on Oct. 15 after getting a call from someone who said their neighbor was living in a garage with her kids. The woman said the building owner allowed her, her 3-year-old and 21-year-old to live in the garage for a few months after they had problems with their third-floor apartment. She told police they were moving into a second-floor apartment in two weeks. Police submitted a DCFS report and notified Steve Glinke, director of the village’s building department.
Open alcohol
While on patrol Oct. 17, police saw people standing outside at 7700 Madison St. with beer at 12:30 a.m. But after police made a lawful U-turn to address the subjects, the beer was gone. Police found an empty can of alcohol that no one said belonged to them before a woman confessed. She was cited with a local ordinance for open alcohol.
DUI
Police were dispatched to 8401 Roosevelt Road on Oct. 19 around 1 a.m. for an accident involving an SUV crashing into a light pole. The driver told police that an unknown vehicle rear ended her and ran her off the road, though police reported that there was no evidence suggesting such. According to the police report, the woman smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and showed signs of inebriation while performing standard field sobriety tests. She was taken into custody and charged with a DUI, operating an uninsured car, driving too fast for conditions and possession of cannabis outside an approved container.
Non-traffic accident
On Oct. 19, a woman came to the police department to report that, a few days earlier, she was walking by Farmington Foods, on the north side of the 7400 block of Franklin, when she tripped and fell over an exposed wire cable. The woman said she hurt her knees, forearms, elbows, fingers and face, so she took herself to the Midwest Express Clinic in River Forest. The woman said a Farmington Foods employee helped her after she fell. No one was charged.
Possession of controlled substance
While on patrol on Oct. 19 in the 7500 block of Roosevelt Road, police saw a man driving a car without a seatbelt. Police pulled the car over and requested the driver get out of the car. Though he initially refused, when he did, police saw suspect cannabis in a clear bag inside and conducted a search of the car. They found over two grams of cannabis, four grams of heroin and nearly 20 grams of crack cocaine on his person and in the vehicle. He was charged with two counts of possessing a controlled substance, two counts of delivering a controlled substance, possessing cannabis and not wearing a seatbelt.
Also on Oct. 19, police responded to Thorntons gas station on Harlem Avenue after a clerk called to report a man in the store that lifted up his shirt to reveal a gun in his waistband. Police found a man matching the given description at the CTA Blue Line station at 701 Harlem Ave. and detained him. Police found that the gun was a plastic toy, and the clerk positively identified the man and said he’d be willing to sign for disorderly conduct. On the man, police found two glass pipes, suspect Xanax and heroin. He was charged with two counts of possessing controlled substances, one count of possessing drug paraphernalia and one count of disorderly conduct.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated Oct. 11 through Oct. 20 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.