Berwyn Police Blotter
Suspicious people, objects or events
Friday, August 27, 2010
“Fresh air” violates parolee’s house arrest
August 22, 2010, 1:39 PM
An officer saw two men on Stanley at Home Avenue; one was talking on a cell phone, the other was sitting on a girl’s purple bike. The talker told the officer he was visiting the bike-sitter while chatting on the phone with his girlfriend. The talker, a 25-year-old from the 2800 block of Ridgeland, admitted to a criminal affiliation—membership in a gang whose name evokes insanity as well as ethnicity—and was sent on his way after police filled out a “gang card” with this information.
The bike-sitter—one Juan P. Lopez, of the 6900 block of Stanley—told police he was just outside “getting fresh air.” A check of Lopez’s name revealed an active arrest warrant out of the Elgin police department. The report stated Lopez admitted to being a member of a street gang named for an ethnicity and a snake; police accordingly filled out a gang card under his name for their records.
Lopez was wearing a black ankle bracelet on his right leg; he reportedly told police he was under house arrest for violating his parole. Berwyn police arrested Lopez and informed the Illinois Dept. of Corrections of the incident; Elgin police fetched Lopez on their warrant.
Gang activity • Miscellaneous • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • Permalink
Saturday, August 14, 2010
BERWYN SUSPECT STILL AT LARGE AFTER FEDS CHARGE 29 IN DRUG CONSPIRACY
August 13, 2010
Berwyn resident James Kirkendall, 32, of 1422 Gunderson, is wanted by local and federal law enforcement for his alleged involvement in a large drug ring that sold as much as $10,000 per day in heroin on Chicago’s west side. A warrant was executed on the Gunderson residence, which, federal authorities say, was used as a “stash house” and was where heroin was repackaged into $10 “dime bags” for individual sale on the street.
The drug ring, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, was run by a Chicago street gang whose main source of income is heroin sales, and whose tentacles extend into Aurora, Forest Park, Hillside and Cicero. The gang, federal authorities said, was called “New Breeds” and emanated from the Black Gangsters, a Chicago street gang. The suspects had been under surveillance by both local and federal law enforcement agents—including visual and telephone wiretaps, as well as cooperating witnesses and undercover drug buys—since October 2009.
Warrants were executed simultaneously in Berwyn, Forest Park and several other locations. In addition to the Gunderson house, another “stash” address was nearby in Cicero;a garage at 1525 Lombard was allegedly used to hold proceeds from narcotic sales.
The gang used violence to control its underlings; according to one cooperating witness, the drug ring’s accused leader, 31-year-old Dana Bostic of Aurora, used a baseball bat to break a man’s hand when the man did not return the amount of money Bostic felt was due him from heroin sales. Bostic is still at large.
Kirkendall—whose street name, according to a DEA affidavit, is “Jigga”—is also regarded as a fugitive as of this date. If convicted, drug conspirators in this case face a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison, and up to life without parole and a fine of up to $4 million.
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http://www.forestparkreview.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=38&ArticleID=5129
Drugs, alcohol, DUI • Gang activity • Suspicious people, objects or events • (1) Comments • Permalink
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Agua picante
July 22, 2010, 5:09 PM
The clerk at a gas station store in the 1500 block of Lombard told police a man opened a jar of hot peppers, drank the liquid and walked out without paying for the item. The offender, a severely mentally-disabled man from that neighborhood, was taken to MacNeal Hospital for treatment.
Suspicious people, objects or events • Theft • (0) Comments • Permalink
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Parolee arrested after search warrant reveals loaded gun, controlled substances
July 20, 2010, 7:57 AM
Berwyn tactical officers, U.S. Marshals and agents of the Illinois corrections department found things that shouldn’t have been there during a check on the home of parolee Michael A. Forys, 29, of 3817 Highland. Police located a red container in Forys’s bedroom. digital scale, drug packaging material and several clear bags containing what later tested positive as cocaine. In another drawer was a Colt .38 police model revolver, fully loaded with six live rounds. Police recovered the gun.
During the incident, police saw David Forys, 27, of the same address, run upstairs to his bedroom. Officers followed quickly enough to see David reach into his closet, where two clear bags of cocaine could be seen. David Forys reportedly said of the cocaine, “It’s mine”. A patdown of David revealed two empty plastic bags with the corners cut off, inside his pocket. Police asked David if those bags used to hold cocaine. David reportedly said, “The bags are gone, I don’t know where they went,” then denied flushing the contents down the toilet.
In a post-Miranda statement, Michael Forys reportedly told officers he used to be a member of the Satan Disciples street gang; admitted ownership of the cocaine in his room, and to buying and reselling drugs in Berwyn. He allegedly stated he needed the loaded gun to protect a family member from an abusive domestic partner.
Michael Forys was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, as well as possession with intent to deliver. David Forys was also charged with possession and possession with intent to deliver.
Drugs, alcohol, DUI • Gang activity • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • Permalink
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Armed man robs, pistol-whips Brookfield resident
July 11, 2010, 11:54 PM
Another gun-related incident, this time in the alley behind the 1400 block of Lombard. A 41-year-old Brookfield man told police he was in the driver’s seat of his Ford pickup truck, parked there with a friend in the passenger seat, when a man appeared “out of nowhere”, opened the driver’s door and stuck a small chrome gun to his left cheek. The robber demanded the victims’ keys, cell phones and wallets. When the driver told the robber, “Hold on a minute,” the offender struck him upside the head with the butt of the gun. Both victims gave up the requested items. The robber then fled on foot southbound through the alley.
The victims said the robber was a male black in his 30s, 5’9”, 235 lbs, dressed in a bright orange shirt, striped shorts and a dark baseball cap.
Robbery • Suspicious people, objects or events • Weapons-related • (0) Comments • Permalink
Leg shot, mouth shut
July 11, 2010, 9:49 PM
Police responded to a call of shots fired outside Lucky Dog, Harlem and 16th. They found a man lying on the ground bleeding from his wounded left leg. According to the report, the victim refused to answer officers’ questions. Puddles of blood were found in a line from the north alley to where the victim lay on the north side of the restaurant.
Witnesses said a white two-door vehicle with a rear spoiler was involved, and described the two suspects as an Hispanic man and woman. The man, they said, had a semi-automatic handgun. Police recovered a 9MM Luger shell casing.
Suspicious people, objects or events • Weapons-related • Unusual, mysterious, odd or just weird • (0) Comments • Permalink
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Stranger danger: their dog held hostage, little girls lured to prison-on-wheels
June 22, 2010, 4:45 PM
A Berwyn police officer on patrol in the 1400 block of Gunderson alley saw a red Dodge minivan parked there, with two young girls, ages 12 and 7, standing next to it. The officer noticed the children looked nervous and scared, so he began to question the van’s driver and the little girls. The officer learned the driver was holding the children’s dog inside the van, and trying to lure the children in also. When police examined the vehicle, they realized the passenger door was screwed permanently shut, and the inside door locks were jimmied, with the childlock devices engaged—thus preventing the escape of anyone held inside the minivan.
The state’s attorney approved a felony charge of attempted aggravated kidnapping of a minor child against Brian Q. Garcia, 32, a resident of the 2200 block of Grove. Police Chief James Ritz praised what he called the outstanding and exceptional efforts of the officer by which “an obvious tragedy was prevented.”
Announcements • Dogs, dog attacks • Memorable incidents • Miscellaneous • Suspicious people, objects or events • Unusual, mysterious, odd or just weird • (1) Comments • Permalink
Saturday, June 19, 2010
It’s just a flesh wound!
June 17, 2010, 3:49 PM
Police were summoned to MacNeal Hospital’s emergency room to talk to a man who received gunshot wounds while walking on 19th between Euclid and Wesley.
The 41-year-old man, a resident of the 1800 block of Euclid, told police “I got it under control. I don’t need you. I can deal with this on my own.” Well, maybe, except for the medical-treatment part: doctors told police the bullet entered the victim through the right testicle, passed into the left leg and exited the leg.
All the victim would say was that he was walking to a friend’s house when three men approached and one pulled out a gun. The victim described the gun as a black .38 revolver, and said he grabbed the gun to take it away but it went off, striking him in the testicle and leg. The offenders ran away, he said, and would say no more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41mkI4ozCVU
Suspicious people, objects or events • Weapons-related • (0) Comments • Permalink
Hey! You don’t work for Red Bull!
June 17, 2010, 6:43 AM
The manager of Walgreen’s in Cermak Plaza detained a man he said he caught removing merchandise from the storage room. The manager said apparently entered the secured storage area somehow and removed three 24-pack cases of Red Bull, valued at $173.45. When the manager saw the stranger there, he said, “You don’t work for Red Bull! Who are you?” The man reportedly ran for the exit and shoved the manager, who detained him until police arrived. Eric Mercado, 25, of Cicero, was charged with battery and one count of felony retail theft.
Suspicious people, objects or events • Theft • (0) Comments • Permalink
Betty Boop & suspicious loot
June 15, 2010
A caller reported a purse seen lying on the front lawn of a house in the 3600 block of Gunderson. Police saw it was a medium-sized black “Betty Boop” purse whose contents had spilled out onto the grass. Items in addition to the purse included two empty wallets and an Illinois state ID belonging to a woman from the 6500 block of 38th. In the same woman’s name there were also a Bank of America checkbook, a Social security Card and a Walmart card. Two additional Social Security cards fell from the purse, in two other women’s names. Dispatch told the officer that multiple vehicles in the area had been burglarized overnight.
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Thursday, May 27, 2010
Cruelty charge: injured dog found chained without water or food
May 17, 2010, 11:46 AM
Following up reports of animal cruelty, police came to Camargo’s Auto & Tire Repair, 632 Roosevelt Rd, where they saw a large male German Shepherd chained to a tire rack. The dog wore a large brown collar and had a chain so short he could ony move three or four feet in any direction.
Owner Hector M. Figueroa, 43, of 1619 Lombard in Cicero, told police he has the dog for security. The dog appeared very dirty and was bleeding from the torso and near one paw; he had a visible neck injury that appeared to be caused by the collar. Figeroa reportedly stated he no longers lets the dog off the chain because of the injury. The dog had never been treated for his injuries. A badly chewed white bowl was near the animal, but there was no water or food in it. According to Figueroa, the dog had had no vaccinations since 2007. No food was within the dog’s reach, but a large box filled with feces was in the dog’s confined area.
Police took the dog to A-American veterinary for a checkup and proper shelter. Figueroa received citations for animal cruelty and having no city tag for the dog.
Dogs, dog attacks • Miscellaneous • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • Permalink
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Creeper stalks teacher
May 14, 2010, 11:08 AM
A 23-year-old teacher in a Berwyn elementary school told police someone—not her boyfriend—sent her a bouquet of roses with a disquieting card. The card read, “You put a smile on my face even though I see you from far away. Your beauty is greater than roses. Here is my email address [an address was included]. From your secret admirer. “ The woman told police she does not know who the sender could be and would like to find out, though not for the reason the admirer probably hopes.
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Sunday, May 09, 2010
Pregnant woman’s purse snatched
April 27, 2010, 2:41 PM
A 30-year-old woman, eight months pregnant, told police she was parked in Cermak Plaza in front of the dollar store and was loading her minivan when a man reached into the van, grabbed her purse and made off with it, accompanied by a second man; the two fled on foot eastbound. The man’s face was obscured by the hood of his sweatshirt, but the victim described him as a male white, 45-50, 5’10”, medium build, in jeans and a brown hoodie. The other man, she said, was a thin male black, 60-65, 6’ tall, dressed in all black. The victim’s purse contained a passport and a LINK card; she was not injured.
Robbery • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • Permalink
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Ogden Avenue liquor store robbed at gunpoint
April 20, 2010, 8 PM
The owner of Route 66 Liquors, 6845 Ogden, called police to report he was robbed at gunpoint. The victim, a 51-year-old Addison man, told police two men entered the store; one displayed a small black semi-automatic handgun and said, “Don’t do anything. Just open the register.” The second robber grabbed $1,000 from the drawer, demanded the victim open the lottery register, and removed $355 from that drawer. Finally, the robbers made the victim empty his pockets; they took his driver’s license, credit cards and $150 before fleeing the store. The victim said the gunman was a male black in his late 20s, 5’6"-5’8", with longer hair, wearing a black White Sox baseball cap, a black hoodie, dark blue jeans and black gym shoes with white piping. The second robber, the victim stated, was also a male black, dressed much like the first offender.
Robbery • Suspicious people, objects or events • Weapons-related • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Robbers accost woman
April 19, 2010, 8:42 PM
A 59-year-old woman was robbed at Home and Vacin on her way home from Cermak Plaza. The victim said her purse was snatched; the purse contained ID, a credit card and jewelry. The first robber was described as a male black, about 17, 5’5” and thin, clean-shaven and wearing a white baseball cap. The second robber, the victim said, was a male black dressed in a black coat and talking on a cell phone during the incident.
Robbery • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink