Drive-thru worker at Portillo’s robbed

Forest Park police were called to Portillo’s, 7740 Roosevelt Road, on Sept. 29 about 3:15 p.m. after someone called to report that an employee, who was working the drive-thru lanes outside the restaurant, had been robbed.

The victim told police she was working as an outside cashier when a black male about 6 feet tall, wearing a red “bucket-style” hat, frameless glasses, a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and a green backpack, approached and said, “Fork out the cash!”

At first the victim thought the offender was joking, but when he repeated the demand, she handed him all of the cash she had and he fled the area north across Roosevelt Road onto Troost Avenue.

Pit bull charges woman, dogs

A police officer responded to the 900 block of Thomas Avenue on Sept. 28 about 6:05 p.m. after someone called 911 to report that a pit bull had a woman trapped on top of a vehicle.

When police arrived, they observed a woman holding two small dogs on the hood of a vehicle parked on the street. The woman was frantic, according to police, and claimed an unleashed pit bull charged at her and her dogs, forcing her to seek refuge on top of the vehicle, where she stayed for 30 minutes screaming for help before someone called police.

The owner of the dog told police the woman was overreacting and that his dog was harmless. The owner wasn’t aware the dog had gotten outside until a neighbor brought the dog back.

Police issued the pit bull’s owner tickets for having a dog at large, for failure to buy a dog license and for animal disturbance of the peace.

Burglary

Police responded to a residence in the 1100 block of Troost Avenue after a homeowner called on Sept. 30 to report that, between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m., someone forced open a door and removed a black vinyl bag containing a Canon EOS T6s digital camera, along with two lenses, from a canvas bag in the living room.

The value of the loss was estimated at about $2,000.

According to the police report, the offender forced open the door, damaging the door and the door jamb.

A resident of the 1500 block of Marengo Avenue contacted police on Sept. 26 to report that, during the overnight hours, someone entered her unlocked vehicle, which was parked in front of her house, and removed a wallet containing $50 in cash, a driver’s license and credit cards that was left in the center console.

The victim reported that someone had tried to use a credit card to load $80 onto a CTA Ventra card that morning, but the transaction was denied.

A resident of the 100 block of Elgin Avenue reported that, overnight on Sept. 27-28, someone gained entry to her unlocked vehicle, which was parked in front of the residence, and rummaged through it. Nothing of value appeared to be missing.

Public indecency

A 16-year-old Bellwood boy was charged with public indecency and resisting arrest after he allegedly exposed himself to a 23-year-old woman at the CTA Blue Line platform at Harlem Avenue.

Police apprehended the boy after a short foot chase east of the CTA station at Desplaines Avenue during which an officer used a Taser to subdue him. The boy reportedly told police he had exposed himself to woman on the train at least twice before.

He was released to the custody of his parents after being charged and treated for cuts sustained while running from police.

Tools stolen from apartment building

A maintenance man for an apartment building in the 7500 block of Adams Street told police on Sept. 28 that, sometime between 11 and 11:10 a.m., someone stole several tools from the laundry room, which is open to all residents of the building.

The victim told police he and another man were working inside the laundry room and left for a short time to go to another unit in the building. When they returned 10 minutes later, all of his tools — including a red Milwaukee fuel drill, a stud finder, a tape measure, drill batteries and sets of Sawzall blades and drill bits and a box of concrete screws — were missing.

Another catalytic converter theft

A resident of the 1000 block of Dunlop Avenue contacted police to report that, during the overnight hours of Sept. 24-25, someone removed the catalytic converter from her 1999 Pontiac, which was parked in the rear lot of the building.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Sept. 26-Oct. 2, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

—Compiled by Bob Uphues