Berwyn Police Blotter

Gang graffiti on a variety of surfaces

2008-09-08T16:41:00Z

September 2, 2008, 7:09 AM
A man reported he parked his car in the 6800 block of Vacin, near Oak Park Ave. and north of Cermak, then came back to find gang graffiti spray-painted on the white Crown Victoria’s hood.
9:24 AM
10:22 AM
Red graffiti marred the appearance of an overhead garage door in the 3300 block of Highland.
12:06 PM
During the night, someone came to the 6200 block of Ogden, smashed a wall-mounted night light, and sprayed graffiti on a wall. The complainant suspects vagrants who sleep in the parking lot there.
6:23 PM
More red graffiti, another garage door, this time in the 3200 block of Lombard.
10:35 PM
Letters legible and otherwise were found painted on the IC underpass at Lombard and Park.

Baggy-clothes runner, broken truck window—connected?

2008-09-08T16:37:01Z

September 2, 2008, 1:15 AM
An officer en route to back up another unit on Roosevelt noticed a man running past. The man ran east, then south through the 1500 block of Highland/Harvey alley. The officer described him as a male Hispanic. 16 to 25 years old, dressed in a baggy white T shirt and long baggy pants. Just after this sighting, the officer noticed a tan Ford pickup trucked parked in the 6300 block of 15th, sporting a recently broken window.

Noise-impounded vehicles

2008-09-07T18:34:00Z

September 2, 2008, 12:19 AM
An officer at 21st and Kenilworth heard a very loud red Chevy Tahoe before seeing it turn without using a signal. The driver was unable to produce the license and insurance proof requested by the officer. Juan Alvarez, 37, of the 3100 block of Oak Park, proved to have a license that expired in May 2007. The car was impounded for noise; Alvarez was cited for noise, failure to signal, no insurance, no seat belt and driving unlicensed.
7:38 AM
Music police described as “blaring” got a silver Dodge Neon pulled over in the 2300 block of Home. Driver Dejan Pavicevic, 17, of Lyons, received the $500 noise ticket, and the car was impounded.

Gimme your money, bro!

2008-09-05T23:19:00Z

September 1, 2008, 10:37 PM
A man told police he was robbed at gunpoint in his own garage in the 1800 block of Cuyler. The victim had just pulled inside the garage when he saw a blue vehicle pass northbound in the alley. Before the victim could get out of his car, two men entered the garage and approached the victim’s car door. One offender displayed a small black handgun and said, “Give me your money, bro!” The victim handed over $25. The robber then asked the victim’s passenger for money, but she had none.

Both robbers fled on foot, then in the blue vehicle. The victim told police he can identify the robbers and assist in creating composite images. He described the gunman as a male black, 5’8” and 110 lbs, dressed in jeans and a white shirt, with short hair done in cornrows with beads in the back. The second robber, the victim said, was a male black, 5’8”, 150 lbs, in a blue polo, jeans and a brown baseball cap.

Drunk, bleeding and wanted

2008-09-05T23:13:00Z

September 1, 2008, 10:23 PM
Police were sent to a residence in the 3700 block of Wesley on reports of a drunken man breaking windows. They found a highly intoxicated Ramon Felix, 39, of Lyons, bleeding from his right hand. The report said witnesses described him as “yelling and screaming senseless dialogue”. A resident of the building positively identified Felix as having pounded on the front door and windows, yelling, “Open the door, bitch!” Puzzled, the witness yelled back, “You’ve got the wrong house!”, at which Felix reportedly punched out the living room window and storm door window. Felix, who also had an active arrest warrant out of Lyons, was charged with criminal damage to property.

Funnel-cake fire finishes fest

2008-09-05T23:04:00Z

September 1, 2008, 9:23 PM
Police and fire personnel responded to an explosion and fire at the Italian fest held at 24th and Home. One victim, a 43-year-old man working at a funnel cake booth run by Suzie’s Fun Foods, told police he was cleaning when a propane tank valve became disconnected while the tank was still in operation, which ignited a deep fryer, which in turn ignited more propane tanks. The victim sustained burns on his arm. The booth owner said four 100 lb propane tanks were connected to the grease fryers at the time of the accident. That ended the fest for the night; police made everyone leave. A number of attendees suffered minor injuries, but according to police reports, signed refusals of medical treatment.

Gang-related stabbing at 16th and Ridgeland

2008-09-05T22:55:00Z

September 1, 2008, 4:35 PM
Police were summoned to the MacNeal emergency room to speak to a stabbing victim. The victim, a 21-year-old Cicero man, said he was at the gas station at 16th and Ridgeland to fuel an SUV when three men approached him and asked, “What’s up, folks?” The victim said he replied, “I am not about that bull---t”. The men got closer and one man produced a knife. The victim ran, but not fast enough, because he was stabbed—from the back—through the upper left shoulder.

The stabbing victim said the three men came to the gas station in a white Chevy van with a dark stripe. He described the offenders as follows:
The stabber was a male Hispanic in his mid-20s, 5’6” to 5’7”, 140-150 lbs with green eyes, dressed in a white oversized T-shirt and blue jeans, and wearing a fitted white baseball hat with writing on it.
The second man was a male Hispanic in his early 20s, same height and weight, with dark hair, dressed in jeans and a blue striped polo shirt.
The third offender was a male Hispanic dressed in an oversized black T-shirt and jeans; the victim told police he can identify them all.

Hammer threat gets teen a warning

2008-09-05T22:49:01Z

September 1, 2008, 12:39 PM
In the 3800 block of Scoville, east side, a man told police he saw a teenage boy in his back yard. The boy was taking a green bike out of the yard. When the man came outside, the teen stated he was taking the bike because it was previously stolen from him. The teen took the bike down the alley to a residence on the same block but on the west side; the victim followed. The teen then picked up a hammer and said, “I’m going to kick your a--”. The victim then called police.

Police spoke to the teen, who was unable to prove the bike actually belonged to him; they advised the teen to stay away from the victim and his family.

Graffiti mars house curb, rear of business

2008-09-05T22:46:00Z

September 1, 2008, 11:15 AM
A caller alerted police to graffiti, done in purple paint, on the front curb of a residence in the 3200 block of Highland; neighborhood youths are suspects.
11:02 AM
Police found silver gang graffiti painted on the rear brick wall and a door of a building in the 6900 block of Cermak, north alley.

Suspended/revoked drivers removed from road

2008-09-05T22:43:00Z

September 1, 2008, 10:40 AM
At Ogden and Lombard, police stopped a Nissan Maxima with no front plate. Drier Jorge Garcia, 27, of the 5300 block of west 30th, Cicero, had a suspended license, so the car was impounded. He was cited for driving while suspended, no insurance and having no front plate.
12:25 PM
A red Pontiac Grand Am was stopped by police at Cermak and Euclid for doing 52 MPH in a 25 MPH zone. Driver Hector L. Roman, 49, of Cicero, got tickets for speeding and driving despite his revoked license; the latter meant the car had to be impounded.

Thieves steal bikes, laptop, car

2008-09-05T22:35:00Z

Sept. 1, 2008, 12:20 AM
Someone stole three bikes—one pink, one purple and one green—from the 1400 block of Euclid; the bikes had a total value of $450.
1:23 AM
A 19-year-old carnival worker, in town for the Italian fest at Harlem and 23rd, told police someone stole his laptop and $90 cash out of his bunkhouse.
9:59 AM
A man in the 3200 block of Clinton told police his $500 bicycle was stolen from his garage.
8:25 PM
In the 6400 block of 18th, someone stole a red Pontiac Grand Am, described as having a low-hanging muffler.

Underage drinker at Italian fest exhibits profanity, bad attitude, to police; weapon recovered

2008-09-05T12:53:00Z

August 31, 2008, 10:40 PM
A tipster told police two males at the Italian fest, Harlem and 24th, appeared to be breaking into a red car. When an officer approached, he saw the pair attempt to hide a half-full 750 ML bottle of Silver Patron Tequila. Both were intoxicated and verbally combative. One was Hector J. Ruiz, 18, of the 6700 block of 16th. The second told police he had no ID, but gave his name as Ariel A. Mijangos, 19, of the 2500 block of Elmwood. Mijangos spontaneously stated, “Berwyn police are a bunch of punk-ass n_____s, messin with a n____ just trying to have a good time and drink.” Because he appeared so intoxicated, paramedics were summoned. Mijango continued to be verbally combative and uncooperative. Although the officer told him multiple times to place his hands on the squad car, Mijango pulled away and appeared to be reaching for a weapon, forcing the officer to place him on the ground. The officer recovered a heavy black metal pipe, 10 inches long, after it fell from Mijango’s waist area. The tequila was also recovered. Ruiz was arrested without incident, reportedly saying, “You won’t have anything like that with me. I’ll be cool.”

During the ride to the police station, Mijango continued in the same vein, making several threats to harm the officer and other gang-related comments; he also spit multiple times inside the squad car.

Ruiz was cited on a local ordinance for possession of alcohol by a minor, then released. Mijango was charged with consumption of alcohol by a minor, possession of alcohol by a minor, unlawful use of a weapon, and resisting a peace officer.

Injured man reports battery

2008-09-05T12:49:01Z

August 31, 2008, 9:30 PM
A 42-year-old man with facial injuries told police he was removing items from his car, parked in the 1500 block of Clinton, when a man ran up to him and began hitting him without a word of explanation. The victim said the man punched him in the face, head and chest several times, threw him to the ground, then fled southbound on Clinton. He described the offender as a male black, 17 to 18 years gold, 5’3”, wearing a baseball cap. The victim said he could identify his attacker and could assist in creating a composite image. Police photographed the victim’s injuries, which included wounds to his lip and left elbow, as well as a large bump on his forehead.

Green blob replaces garbage can

2008-09-05T12:44:01Z

August 31, 2008, 9:19 PM
In the 2800 block of Grove, police found someone had set a fire inside a Waste Management trash bin; the container melted.

Fireworks confiscated

2008-09-05T12:35:00Z

August 31, 2008, 7:59 PM
Police came to the 3800 block of Euclid, where they found David Camacho, 31, igniting fireworks in his back yard. Camacho was charged with violating the fire code. The fireworks were confiscated and the detective bureau was notified.