Berwyn Police Blotter
Suspicious people, objects or events
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Cicero car chase ends in Berwyn reckless-driving arrest
June 7, 2008, 2:58 AM
Berwyn police joined Cicero’s in pursuit of a silver Mercedes headed westbound on 26th; the car was observed at 30th and Home as it sped up, struck the curb and blew out its right front tire. Police saw the driver flee on foot through a gangway at 29th and Home. The Mercedes had heavy front-end damage. Nearby was a correspondingly-damaged parked Neon in the 6800 block of 30th. Police saw a woman passenger emerge from the Mercedes. The woman, a resident of Lincolnwood, told police the Mercedes was hers and was driven by her boyfriend Daryl; however, she was unable to recall the man’s last name. A K-9 officer located 24-year-old Daryl D. Brown of Catlett, VA. Brown was charged with improper lane use, fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, no insurance and driving with a suspended license.
Suspicious people, objects or events • Traffic stops / accidents • (1) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Monday, June 09, 2008
Dollar-store deodorant thieves flee, elude police
June 5, 2008, 1:46 PM
A caller reported a man and a woman leaving Dollar Tree, Cermak Plaza, after stealing store merchandise. The manager said the pair fled in a white Ford Escort wagon, and gave the license number to police. An officer spotted the Ford at Cermak and Home and attempted to pull it over with lights and sirens. Instead of stopping, the Ford accelerated, drove through the stop sign at 21st at high speed, turned right onto 19th, blew through the stops at Grove and again at Oak Park, then fled north on Oak Park. During the chase, the passenger threw a black plastic bag out of the car. It contained 10 Lady Speed Stick deodorants and two Men’s Speed Sticks. When the car approached 16th, the passenger threw out an even larger white bag; that one contained another 30-40 deodorant sticks.
The vehicle was registered to a man from the 1900 block of south 50th, Cicero. His extensive criminal history included attempted murder and armed violence. A flash message was sent out to other police departments. Police learned that an hour after the Berwyn theft, the Lincolnwood police department ran the name of the car’s owner. Lincolnwood recently had a similar theft of deodorant, followed by a police chase during which the offenders threw the loot out of the car.
The manager told police a man and woman entered the store together, and the man began placing store items inside a black plastic bag and a white cloth bag. When the pair headed for the door without paying, the manager asked them to stop. The man stated, “F^@& you,” and the pair walked to the car. The manager described them as a male black, 5’9”, slender, dressed in shiny jogging pants and a light blue shirt; and a female black, 5’3”, large, dressed in blue shorts and a blue tank with white stripes.
Miscellaneous • Suspicious people, objects or events • Theft • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Interrupted malt-liquor-flavored stroll ends in pot stash discovery
June 5, 2008, 12:47 PM
A police sergeant, patrolling the 21st and Oak Park area because of citizen complaints of gang activity and drug deals, noticed a man walking southbound in the 1900 block of Oak Park/Euclid alley. The man then crossed 21st, still headed south; a three-fourths-empty bottle of King Cobra malt liquor was in his right hand. When the man noticed the sergeant, he reportedly said “Oh, s@$#, my bad!” and set the 55-ouncer down in mid-street. He was uncooperative during the subsequent patdown, and resisted being handcuffed until warned police might have to use the Taser. Police arrested Dimitri J. Juste, 23, of Glenview. In Juste’s pants pocket was a Ruffles potato chip bag containing nine clear plastic bags of marijuana, with a total weight of 5.7 grams. Juste was charged with resisting a peace officer, possession of marijuana, and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.
Drugs, alcohol, DUI • Suspicious people, objects or events • Street stop • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Man stabbed in struggle with robbers
June 3, 2008, 11:38 PM
Police responded to reports of a stabbing at 16th and Harlem, where they found the victim in pain at the bus stop bench. The 22-year-old victim, a man from the 3100 block of west Lexington, Chicago, said a man and a woman approached him and asked “Where you from?” He told them he was from out of town, whereupon the man asked, “Where’s your f@#%ing money?” A struggled ensued, during which the woman stabbed the victim in the left buttock with a 3-inch pocket knife. The offenders fled on foot northeast through the Lucky Dog parking lot. The victim described the offenders as a male Hispanic in a green hoodie, and a female Hispanic in a white shirt.
Assault, battery • Robbery • Suspicious people, objects or events • Weapons-related • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Gang regalia near Proksa explained as “his only clean shirt”
June 3, 2008, 10:50 PM
Police detained a Cicero man, dressed in gang clothing, after seeing him stand at the corner of 31st and Wisconsin, across from Proksa Park, for a long time. Humberto I. Rodriguez, 17, explained his presence on the corner by saying he had attended a party and was on his way home. He told police he used to be a member of a street gang but had “gotten out”. Then he said he was only wearing the suspicious shirt—adorned with the initials of the gang, as well as printed with his “street” name—because “it was his only clean shirt”. Police informed him that it was against the law to represent a street gang by such means. Gang-related items recovered by police were turned over to the tactical division. Rodriguez was cited for disorderly conduct; his court date is June 19 at 3 PM in the community room, 6401 31st.
Disorderly conduct • Gang activity • Loitering • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Landlord complains to police about ex-tenant
June 3, 2008, 8:03 PM
A 56-year-old River Forest resident told police his ex-tenant damaged his rental property in the 1400 block of Kenilworth. The landlord said when the former tenant fell behind on rent, she moved out, leaving a large mess behind. He also reported two broken garage windows and a stolen microwave, stating he thinks the woman still has the keys to the house.
Graffiti / vandalism / criminal damage • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Study for finals, or hang around an empty store? Let me think …
June 1, 2008, 2:38 PM
Police were dispatched to the long-empty Service Merchandise store in Cermak Plaza on reports of kids doing graffiti on the roof. Officers found no graffiti, but did locate several juveniles in the rear of the store, matching the descriptions given by callers. The four boys were taken into custody and later turned over to their parents. They were a 14-year-old from the 6700 block of 16th; a 12-year-old from the 1600 block of Oak Park; a 12-year-old from the 1900 block of Gunderson, and a 13-year-old from the 1400 block of Wenonah. All four were students at Lincoln Middle School.
Disorderly conduct • Graffiti / vandalism / criminal damage • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Friday, June 06, 2008
Men choose middle of night to do their outdoor yelling
June 1, 2008, 3:38 AM
Police responded to reports of a disturbance in the street. Officers found 22-year-old Christopher Valentin, 2636 Clarence, yelling at a 20-year-old man from the same block, Jose Mendoza, to shut up and get in the house. According to police, Mendoza justified his outdoor yelling and screaming to police by telling them he just found out he was adopted. He was cited for disorderly conduct, with a court date of July 17 at 3 PM at the police station, 6401 31st.
Disorderly conduct • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Peace breached at party’s end
May 31, 2008, 11:02 PM
Police were summoned to the 2100 block of Elmwood on reports of a fight in the street. On arrival, officers saw several male and female juveniles running from a residence. A 13-year-old boy was walking down the street holding a big flashlight, yelling at people to leave. He told police he was kicking people out of his residence because the party was over. An officer took the flashlight and handed it to the boy’s mother. The mother told police someone stole her cell phone and was making prank calls and texting her son’s number, requesting ransom money for her phone. Just then, dispatchers contacted the officers at the scene, saying they had a battery victim on the phone, calling from the basement of the party-givers’ residence. Officers entered the basement and met with a Wheeling man who had been the DJ at the party. The DJ told police a male party-goer had requested a song, was upset when the DJ did not have it, and left the party. But as the party ended, the DJ said, the thwarted song-requester returned and punched him in the face. The victim described the batterer as a male black with long, wavy black hair, dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt.
The 38-year-old hostess was charged with use of the premises to disturb the peace, with court date of July 10 at 3 PM in the Community Room of the police station, 6401 31st.
Assault, battery • Fight/brawl/riot • Miscellaneous • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Noise complaint leads to trashed flat full of dope smoke, booze, graffiti
May 30, 2008, 10:17 PM
Callers complained of loud music coming from an apartment building at 2107 Grove. Responding officers could hear both the loud music and yelling from a third floor apartment; it was loud enough to be heard in the courtyard below. When police knocked at the front door, a male voice asked who was there. When police said “police”, officers heard the sound of objects falling to the floor, and saw many people running down the rear stairs. Police were able to stop three men; others fled to the back yard of a residence in the 1900 block of Oak Park—a yard notable during the previous week for hosting polo-shirted teens smoking pot*. One of the men stopped by police was an 18-year-old resident of that building. Another was an 18-year-old from the 6400 block of 26th; the third, also 18, was from the 6600 block of Mozart, Chicago.
A check of the now-abandoned apartment revealed a scene of squalor. There was extensive damage, graffiti on several walls, empty and half-empty liquor bottles on with windowsills and floor, and an odor of marijuana smoke.
The apartment in the Grove building was allegedly leased by a man who is currently supposed to be in DeKalb, IL; the detainees were unable to provide police with a contact phone number for this person, nor did they know where he might be found.
Police tried to reach the owner of 2107 Grove—MBW Properties in Niles, IL—but had to leave a message with an answering service.
*
http://www.berwynpoliceblotter.com/index.php/site/comments/sounds_a_lot_like_a_school_uniform/
Disorderly conduct • Drugs, alcohol, DUI • Gang activity • Graffiti / vandalism / criminal damage • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Pedestrian flees from threatening strangers
May 30, 2008, 11:06 PM
A 20-year old Berwyn man told police he was at 15th and Grove, walking home, when a man stepped out of a car and passed him on foot. The victim said this made him feel uneasy, so he walked faster. He began to run when he heard voices from the car say “Get him, get him!” He was able to outrun his pursuers. The victim described the man who scared him as a male Hispanic, 5’8”, light-skinned, possibly with acne scarring, dressed in a black sweater and denim shorts.
Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Monday, June 02, 2008
Sounds a lot like a school uniform
May 29, 2008, 3:44 PM
Police received reports of people smoking crack between buildings in the 1900 block of Oak Park Avenue. Complainants said the two people seen were a heavy male Hispanic and a “masculine-looking” female white with a ponytail, and stated the male is involved in regular drug buys in the same location. Callers also reported one of the back yards adjacent to the crack-smoking scene often contains a group of teenagers smoking marijuana cigars while dressed in blue polo shirts and tan pants.
Drugs, alcohol, DUI • Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Banished, yet irresistibly drawn
May 28, 2008, 5:39 PM
Police were summoned to the 1900 block of Euclid because a man who was arrested for trespassing on the property two days earlier* had returned. Edgar M. Gomez, 46, of the 2000 block of south Leavitt, Chicago, was intoxicated, police said. He was charged once again with criminal trespass.
*
http://www.berwynpoliceblotter.com/index.php/site/comments/suspicious_snoozer_seized/
Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Police from six towns needed to break up large, loud party of admitted gang members
May 26, 2008, 7:03 PM
Complaints led police to an extremely loud, large party in the back yard of a house in the 3800 block of Euclid. There, they found a gathering that included at least 50 self-proclaimed members of a street gang. A DJ with an amplified sound system was playing excessively loud music. A Stickney police commander, one of the first responders, saw a man holding a handgun, so he ordered the man to drop it. Instead, 18-year-old Willow Springs resident Carlos Ezequiel Campos ran toward a vehicle and threw the gun over the south fence. Campos was arrested. The gun—a .25 caliber Raven Arms model MP 25—had a serial number which proved to be nonexistent.
Berwyn police ordered everyone else to lie on the ground with their hands on their heads. All but one complied: Kenneth Karas, 28, of Westmont, reportedly yelled profanities and attempted to incite others to disobey police commands by stating, “F@&^ this bulls@&t, we don’t have to do this s@%t!” and the like. He was warned, then Tasered, to gain his compliance.
At least 30 people were taken into custody in the yard and charged with disorderly conduct. They included several juveniles, and residents of Chicago, Berwyn, Westmont, Galesburg, Willow Springs, La Grange, Stickney, Abingdon, Cicero, Lisle, and Monmouth, Illinois, as well as Lyndon Station, Wisconsin.
While police checked the property of one of the prisoners—a 35-year-old man from the 2100 block of Gunderson—they found and confiscated a silver ring representing the gang.
When Berwyn police and a K-9 officer came to search the house, a male voice yelled, “Don’t send the dog!” upon which a 20-year-old Lisle man emerged from the building.
Responders included police officers from Berwyn, Stickney, Cicero, Riverside, Lyons, and Forest View.
The party hosts were 32-year-old Robert English and 24-year-old Miranda Franks. English and Franks were each charged with one count of child endangerment. At the scene, police recovered a number of gang-related items, including a white sweater with a black bunny, a black belt with white letters spelling out the gang’s name, and a set of black nunchucks.
English was advised he was ineligible to post bond, since he was already out on bond from Cicero on misdemeanor charges. English reportedly proceeded to make threats against officers and their families; he stated he could pay someone to get their addresses and license numbers, and would no longer advise his “shorties” (underlings) to “back off cops.” The report said English then stated that he would force an officer to kill him or he would kill himself. He was placed on suicide watch.
Disorderly conduct • Fight/brawl/riot • Gang activity • Miscellaneous • Noise violations • Suspicious people, objects or events • Weapons-related • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Suspicious snoozer seized
May 26, 2008, 6:25 PM
A caller reported a man sleeping in the common hall area of a building in the 1900 block of Euclid. The caller said the same person had been there two days earlier and had been told at that time to leave or face arrest. Police spoke with the man, Edgar M. Gomez, 46, of the 2000 block of south Leavitt, Chicago. Gomez stated he had consumed a couple of beers and wished to rest because he had no place to go. He was arrested and charged with criminal trespass.
Suspicious people, objects or events • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink