Berwyn Police Blotter
Urine-sample jar holds green, leafy substance; fake designer bags found in garbage bag
March 27, 2008, 3:04 AM
Police were intrigued by a gold Nissan Altima because it was parked in the middle of the the 2100 block of Gunderson with its lights out just as if it were in a real parking space. At the approach of an officer, the lights went on and the Altima proceeded north on Gunderson, where it was stopped at 18th. Police spoke with driver Angel Miranda, 17, of Cicero. He said the car was parked in the street in order to pick up an 18-year-old man in the 2100 block of Gunderson. Miranda was arrested when police learned he had never possessed a license to drive. A search of the Nissan recovered a clear plastic bottle with an orange lid under the passenger seat. The bottle, labeled “Starplex Scientific,” was apparently intended to hold urine samples. Inside, in lieu of urine, were two clear blue-tinted baggies containing 1.5 grams of marijuana. In the backseat was a plastic trash bag containing a large number of designer purses: Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Juicy and Dooney & Burke. The bag was placed into evidence. Miranda was cited for improper parking in a roadway, no lights when required, no license and no insurance.
Miranda told police the handbags were his mom’s. Police talked to his mom, a 34-year-old Cicero woman, who said she sells them for a friend. The friend buys counterfeit designer bags at a Canal St., Chicago, flea market, then gives them to the Cicero woman to sell for $25-30 apiece. The friend, she said, earns $5-10 per purse. The case of the counterfeit handbags was turned over to a Cook County Special Operations/Organized Crime investigator.
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