Berwyn Police Blotter
Memorable incidents
Thursday, February 28, 2008
“Juke party—no standing around!”
February 21, 2008, 12:03 PM
Several witness told police they saw people coming in and out of a house in the 1800 block of Lombard at a time when nobody should have been home. Police got a key from the landlord and entered after their knocks went unanswered. Officers found 12 people in the attic, surrounded by a very heavy marijuana smell. The tenant’s son—who was supposed to be in school—told police he and other 11 partiers go to Morton West high school. A copy of a flyer advertising the gathering was found on the attic floor; it had been distributed at Morton. It read:
JUKE PARTY 9 AM - 3 PM
18** LOMBARD
Everybody $3
No bullsh*@, no fighting
No standing around
And what’s a “juke”, you ask? Apparently, it’s a verb—here:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=juke
Drugs, alcohol, DUI • Memorable incidents • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Ever wondered why it’s so hard to drive past a school at 3 PM? This doesn’t help
February 20,2008, 3:12 PM
Near Lincoln Middle School, at 16th and Gunderson, a city crossing guard was swept with a wave of profanity after informing a 41-year-old woman that she could not park in a “no parking” zone. Police spoke with the foul-mouthed woman—a resident of the 1900 block of Harlem—who admitted to swearing, but excused herself by claiming she felt “singled out”; she believed that other cars already illegally parked made illegal parking ok. She was advised to, in future, conduct herself “like an adult.”
Disorderly conduct • Memorable incidents • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Indecent, offensive and just plain gross
February 17, 2008, 3:41 AM
Police present in MacNeal Hospital emergency room on another case learned a male patient had just spit in the face of a woman technician trying to treat him. Jaime Melgoza, 42, of the 1900 block of 55th Ct., Cicero, was already in 4-point restraints because of an earlier incident in which a female ER worker was trying to register him as a patient. In that incident, Melgoza reportedly exposed himself to the woman, masturbated, and told her to “come and suck it.” Because of this, the registrar had guards restrain him hand and foot. Both victims signed complaints against Melgoza. He was charged with battery and public indecency.
Assault, battery • Memorable incidents • Miscellaneous • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Nothing missing but a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls
February 16, 2008, 2:47 PM
Dispatchers told police a caller said he was robbed at Oak Park and Windsor. Police arrived and found no victims; dispatchers then called the victim back several times, asking him to come outside and talk to police. A 48-year-old man, a resident of the 3300 block of Wisconsin, came outside. He had great trouble walking or standing, so he sat down to talk to police. The man said he had been at the Cherry Lounge for several hours, then moved on to Cabin Fever. When he finally walked home, he used the Windsor alley. He said he was approached by four male blacks, one displaying a gun. He said the other three men kicked him in the side and chest, then they stabbed him with a needle they said was filled with a deadly drug cocktail. Then, he said, the men stole $43, some IDs and half a pack of cigarettes. The man showed police his arm; it was covered with needle tracks old and new. Because of the man’s intoxicated state, paramedics came to treat him. He told them he had consumed more than a fifth of vodka, as well as the following drugs: Dialudid, Oxycontin, Norco and Fentanyl—highly addictive painkillers. The man still had in his possession the IDs of which he claimed he was robbed. Police decided the man was experiencing a drug-induced paranoia, and the episode likely just a product of his chemical-soaked brain.
Drugs, alcohol, DUI • Memorable incidents • Unusual, mysterious, odd or just weird • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Partygoer rescued from catchbasin after fall
February 12, 2008, 5:02 AM
Police arrived in the 6300 block of 26th in response to a call about a man trapped in a sewer behind a house. There he was, stuck in a 2-and-a-half-foot wide, 5-foot deep sewer. Via a translator, 39-year-old Andres Torres-Montoya said he had been at a friend’s party, then went home and tried to enter the back door when he fell down the sewer. He was down there three hours before neighbors heard him yelling. He said he did not recall whether the cover was on or off the sewer at the time of the fall. Police spoke with the party-giver, a man from 25th and Harvey; he told officers Torres-Montoya left the party between 10:30 and 11 PM.
Memorable incidents • Miscellaneous • Unusual, mysterious, odd or just weird • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Constitutional Scholar Seeks Same
February 13, 2008, 1:52 PM
Fresh from her release from the lockup at the Berwyn Police Department, an 18-year-old woman from the 3100 block of Euclid came to the station desk told the desk officer in a very loud voice that she wished to “talking to a f------ police officer who knows the f------ Constitution!” The officer advised her to quiet down and take a seat, at which the woman yelled, “F--- YOU! Don’t tell me what to do, just get me a f------ cop who knows the law!” The officer again advised the woman to be seated and calm down, because she was disturbing the 12 to 15 other people present in the lobby at the time. The woman replied, “F--- YOU! Don’t tell me what to do!,” and walked away. The officer turned away from the window briefly to attend to some work, and the woman returned and yelled, “I told you to get me a f------ cop that knows the f------ law and I know my rights and this is B---S---!” The officer came out into lobby, took the woman by the arm and escorted back to the booking department, instructing her to sit on the bench next to the holding cage. The woman responded by screaming that she knew her rights and that they could not hold her. In front of several police personnel, the woman screamed, swore and behaved irrationally, demanded to be released immediately, and threatened to hurt herself. She was placed in the holding cage. Minutes later, the booking officer hit the emergency call button, bringing other officers to his aid; the woman had wrapped an undershirt around her neck and was trying to choke herself. She told police, “I told you I would hurt or kill myself.” Again she demanded to be released, stating she had no reason to live if she could not sign complaints against a 15-year-old juvenile subject with whom she had a fight earlier. At this point, police took away the woman’s shoes, socks and zipped hoodie because of her threats. She was handcuffed to a chair for her protection, until paramedics arrived to take her away for a psychiatrict evaluation.
Disorderly conduct • Memorable incidents • Miscellaneous • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Plump perv offends teen
February 4, 2008, 7:21 PM
A 17-year-old girl told police she was walking near 13th and Harvey when she noticed a maroon sedan with tinted windows and a loud engine stopped at the stop sign. The car then drove east on 13th and stopped at the opening of the Harvey/Lombard alley. As she walked past the car, the man got out, exposed himself and masturbated. The girl ran away and called police. The offender is described as a male Hispanic, between 20-25 years old, 5’10” and heavy, wearing a black winter hat, black hoodie, and jeans that may have had a green design.
Memorable incidents • Miscellaneous • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Man warned after being creepily attentive to preschool girl
February 2, 2008, 10:41 AM
Police spoke with the owner of World’s Largest Laundromat, 6246 Cermak, about a man behaving suspiciously with a child. According to laundromat workers, he appeared in the laundromat, without laundry, a few days earlier, got a cup of coffee, and struck up a conversation with a little girl about four or five years old. When the child walked away, the man followed her to the children’s play area, and spoke to her for between five and 10 minutes, even though employees told him more than once the children’s area is off-limits to adults, and not to bother any kids. The man told workers her was just waiting for some things to dry, but left as he had come, without any laundry. The encounter was captured on store surveillance video.
On February 2, the owner called police to report the man had returned. Officers asked him about the incident with the little girl. The man said he vaguely remembered getting a cup of coffee. When asked why he was speaking with a little child, the man said he was sure he did nothing harmful or illegal, but just “loves kids” and was “being nice.” The surveillance video, police felt, showed the conversation between the man and the child to be inappropriate; at one point, the man could be seen kissing the child’s hand. No charges were filed, but workers were told to keep an eye on the 53-year-old man, a resident of the 6300 block of Cermak.
Memorable incidents • Suspicious people, objects or events • Unusual, mysterious, odd or just weird • (1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Stereo so loud, driver didn’t notice gunshots striking van
January 17, 2008, 11:38 pm
A 32-year-old man walked into the Berwyn police station to report someone just shot up his white Ford Econoline van. The driver, a resident of the 3800 block of Scoville, and his passenger, a 30-year-old man from the 1900 block of Grove, said they were shot at as they drove south on Ridgeland. At first, the driver told police the shooting occurred as he drove southbound from the 2200 to the 2500 block of Ridgeland. Later, he said the shooting began in the 1800 block until the 2100 block of Ridgeland. He told police his stereo was so loud, he did not notice the gunshots until one of the ten or more bullets hit and cracked his front windshield and the tires went suddenly flat on one side of the van. Police examining the van saw marks from multiple gunshots, including the damaged windshield. A check of the van-driver’s name turned up a “gang caution”. The driver told police he thought the shots were fired from a small red car with four men in it.
Gang activity • Memorable incidents • Weapons-related • (1) Comments • (1) Trackbacks • Permalink
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Man bowls as forgotten pizza burns
January 16, 2008, 7:48 PM
An apartment tenant of a building in the 2700 block of Ridgeland reported smoke coming from under the door of another flat. Police forced the door and found the oven on. Inside the oven was a burned pizza, from which thick smoke poured. When police reached the 28-year-old tenant of the smoky flat, he explained he left to go bowling and must have forgotten about the still-cooking pizza.
Memorable incidents • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Rights to artwork in dispute
January 15, 2008, 4:55 PM
A Berwyn artist living in the 5700 block of Roosevelt told police she had allowed a Chicago man to photograph some of her paintings to place on his website in order to advertise the work of both. But when the woman checked the photographer’s website, she realized he was offering prints of 13 of her paintings for sale, with a price list. Worse, when a cursor was placed over the images, “© 2008” and the name of the photographer—not the artist—appeared. The photographer even had a PayPal account with which prospective customers could pay him for the woman’s artwork.
Memorable incidents • Miscellaneous • Theft • Unusual, mysterious, odd or just weird • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Man inadvertently ticks off aggressive father, daughter
January 4, 2008, 10 AM
A Berwyn man told police he was in an altercation on January 1st in the parking lot of a grocery store in North Riverside; a man who parked next to the victim’s vehicle began to yell at him. On January 3, the victim said a woman came to his Berwyn workplace around 7:30 PM, asked whether he had been in an altercation in the Jewel parking lot, then stated, “I’m his daughter and now he knows where you work.” The woman was described as white, about 5’7” and 160 pounds.
Memorable incidents • Miscellaneous • Unusual, mysterious, odd or just weird • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Monday, January 07, 2008
The wrong house
January 1, 2008, 4:06 AM
A caller reported a man sleeping in the rear of a residence in the 2100 block of Wisconsin. Police found a highly intoxicated 37-year-old man, Noel Morales-Solis, who does live on the block, just not at that address. When police woke him up, Morales-Solis tried to tell them he was at his own home, and was unable to comprehend the reality of the situation. An attempt to render medical treatment resulted in Morales-Solis yelling and growing irate and uncooperative to the point at which police were obliged to use the Taser on him. After Morales-Solis punched an officer in the head, police used the Taser once more in order to take him into custody. Morales-Solis was charged with battery and resisting an officer.
Assault, battery • Memorable incidents • Unusual, mysterious, odd or just weird • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Monday, December 24, 2007
The Finding in the Snowbank: kidnapped Baby Jesus back in Berwyn nativity display
December 19, 2007
The figure of baby Jesus, stolen from a nativity display in the front yard of a house in the 3400 block of Oak Park on December 5, was found across the street in a snowbank, where the thief apparently discarded it. A neighbor spotted the figure, guessed where it came from and alerted the homeowner.
The following link goes to the original story:
http://www.berwynpoliceblotter.com/index.php/site/comments/empty_manger_reported/
Memorable incidents • Unusual, mysterious, odd or just weird • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Annoying honking leads to discovery of booze in car of minor
December 18, 2007, 1:35 PM
Police stopped a silver Jeep in the middle of the 1400 block of Grove for excessive use of its horn while at 15th and Oak Park. Driver Adolfo Hernandez Jr., 17, of the 1500 block of Highland, told the officer he had no license to drive. He was arrested. Inside the Jeep was a six-pack of Corona beer with only four bottles left. Hernandez was cited for improper use of the car horn, driving unlicensed, and illegal transportation of alcohol. The Jeep was impounded because of the alcohol offense.
Memorable incidents • Noise violations • (0) Comments • (1) Trackbacks • Permalink