Berwyn Police Blotter
Speeding stolen Stickney van stopped, driver disappears
February 28, 2008, 2:34 AM
An officer clocked a white Ford van going 44 MPH in a 30 MPH zone westbound on Ogden, and began to follow. The van turned abruptly into a lot at 6920 Ogden, and a man in a light-colored hoodie coat hopped out and ran away. Police spoke with passenger Blanca I. Pedraza, 39, of the 3700 block of Highland, who said, “Hey, the driver just took off, he took off down the alley, man.” Officers were dispatched in search of him. Meanwhile, Pedraza stated the driver’s name was “Jimmy”, further volunteering that she has known him a long time, he is good friends with her son, she knows where he lives, knows what gang he belongs to, but was drawing a blank on his last name. Pedraza suggested “Jimmy” may have fled the scene because he has no driver’s license, adding that they were drinking in the van. She stated he picked her up a few hours earlier, and she showed him a place in Chicago where he could purchase cocaine. After this, she said, they drove back to Berwyn where they “snorted some coke and drank a few beers.” A computer check of the van revealed it had been stolen out of Stickney the previous day; the owner was notified. A Stickney offer informed Berwyn police that Stickney had surveillance footage showing Pedraza in the act of stealing the vehicle; she was turned over to Stickney for the offense, and was charged by Berwyn police with criminal trespass to a vehicle as well. As of the release of this report, police were still seeking 22-year-old “Jimmy”, a resident of the 3700 block of Gunderson.
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