Berwyn Police Blotter
Monday, June 25, 2007
Fire ruins classic car
June 21, 2007, 3:52 PM
A fire appeared to have started when something thrown into a trash can ignited behind a garage in the 3600 block of Wesley. Inside the garage were two cars: a Honda, and a 1960 Rolls Royce Bentley. Both cars had heavy smoke and paint damage.
Knife used to threaten, then cut, brother-in-law
June 21, 2007, 2:43 PM
A 38-year-old man told police he came home to the 2100 block of Harvey, entered the bathroom and heard a knock at the bathroom door. When the man opened it, his 31-year-old brother-in-law accused him of flattening his bicycle tires. He then pushed the victim against the front door, stabbed a hole in the door with a knife, put the knife to the victim’s neck, and used the knife-tip to draw blood. The offender fled, and the victim called police.
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6 PM
Police returned to arrest the offender. They took the knife—which had a four-inch blade—as evidence. The offender was charged with aggravated assault, domestic battery and unlawful use of a weapon.
Next time, pick up the phone
June 21, 2007, 12:26 PM
A man told police the downspouts had been stolen from his garage in the 2200 block of Lombard. He saw nothing, but said a neighbor told him two male whites had been seen in the alley on June 20th, pushing a blue shopping cart full of folded downspouts.
Graffiti on glass, on garage, in tunnel, on fence and on barbershop
June 21, 2007
Acid-etched graffiti was found on the glass window of a shop in the 6200 block of Cermak. A garage door was defaced with gang symbols and letters, in black marker, in the 6700 block of Riverside Drive. Miscellaneous gang graffiti was made with white paint and black marker in the IC tunnel at Home Avenue; a fence facing the tracks in the 2800 block of Wenonah also received gang-related markings. And at 8:40 PM, the west wall of a barbershop was found wearing graffiti, done in black paint, in the 6400 block of 16th St.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Guy with four aliases has booze in car
June 21, 2007, 10:19 AM
An officer stopped a white and brown older Chevy van traveling erratically westbound on 26th near Wesley. The van kept trying to pass other vehicles on the left, entering oncoming traffic while so doing. The driver gave the name “David Flores”, for which there was no record of a license. A fingerprint check showed he had four aliases, each with its own birthdate. Police also noticed an open 32-ounce still-cold Budweiser beer on the passenger seat of the van. The driver was booked under the name David Flores, 36, of Cicero. He got tickets for improper lane use, no license, no insurance and illegal transportation of alcohol.
Self-abuser distracts woman with home repair chat
June 21, 2007, 1:17 AM
A woman told police fear made her wait four hours before reporting an indecent exposure. She encountered the suspect when she returned to her home in the 2300 block of Wesley. A man with a red truck handed her a pink flyer advertising a roofing company. The woman asked if he did electrical work, such as a fan she had in the house. He asked to come inside to see it on the spot, which made her uncomfortable. It was then she noticed the man’s shoulder moving, leading her to the horrible discovery that he was masturbating as they talked. She immediately turned and entered her house, tearing up the pink flyer. Friends convinced her to tell police. She was able to provide them with an identical blue flyer from a neighbor’s property. The suspect’s red truck had a white-topped tool box secured in the truckbed. He is described as a male Hispanic with a round face and short hair, large and muscular, in his late 20s with a tattoo on the left tricep.
Incoherent man endangers self, others
June 21, 2007, 12:24 AM
Two officers responded to calls of a man yelling in the middle of the street at 34th and Gunderson. The yeller was found walking on Ogden, after being pointed out by a witness who described the fellow as looking intoxicated and/or “crazy”. When police asked him to stop, he ran southbound, then turned to face the officers and scream incoherently in Spanish and English. The man would not calm down, but moved continually while clenching his fists. He looked and smelled drunk. When police tried to handcuff him for their own safety, he grew violent. He was successfully restrained after a third officer arrived to assist. Mario E. Vilches, 36, of Cicero, was ticketed for disorderly conduct and taken to MacNeal Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
Improperly-licensed folk, malt liquor, caught in seat-belt enforcement zone
June 21, 2007, in the midnight hour
Officers set up a seatbelt enforcement zone at Harlem and 24th. First victim was a green Neon with a temporary plate driven by beltless Jose Salazar, 19, of the 6000 block of west 63rd Place, Chicago. He was cited for the seatbelt violation as well as for driving sans license and insurance. A belt-free driver in a blue Olds was pulled over. Mohammed Wazwaz, 58, of Bloomingdale, Minnesota, had not possessed a valid driver’s license since his was suspended in 1992. And at the same location, a white 1995 Olds sedan with only one headlight was pulled over. Driver Cassie M. Weathersby, 25, of the 1600 block of north Mango, Chicago, had three open 40-ounce bottles of King Cobra Malt Liquor visible inside the car. She got tickets for the single headlight, no insurance, suspended license, improper front plate display and illegal transportation of alcohol.
King Cobra, by the way, has an alcohol content of 5.9%.
(see http://www.moderndrunkardmagazine.com/issues/03_03/03-03_forty_fury.htm).
Alert Citizens’ Police Academy alumnus interrupts theft
June 20, 2007, 10:40 PM
A 46-year-old man watering his front lawn in the 3200 block of Clarence saw a strange man walking down the sidewalk, carrying a grill. The homeowner—a graduate of Berwyn’s Citizens’ Police Academy—asked the stranger where he was going. The stranger said “to a friend’s place”. The homeowner said, “Get the hell out of here!’ and the stranger walked away, leaving the grill behind. While police took the homeowner’s statement, dispatchers told them someone in that block had just reported a stolen grill. A neighbor from across the street had just placed in his yard a brand-new, never-used grill, only to discover it missing soon after. The theft victim identified the left-behind grill as his. The suspect was described to police as a white male, 5’9”, 150-160 lbs, wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans and sneakers.
Man can’t handle motorcycle
June 20, 2007, 7:24 PM
A detective saw a black motorcycle with a temporary plate try to go north on Oak Park near Cermak. The driver kept stopping and tipping over. He also had trouble restarting the motorcycle. The 24-year-old man had no “M” classification on his license, and thus was not legally permitted to drive a motorcycle in the first place. He also lacked insurance, so he was ticketed for both things.
Illegal parking job unveils illicit contraband
June 20, 2007, 8:20 PM
An officer on bicycle patrol saw a brown GMC van parked illegally at the corner of 19th and Gunderson, and noticed a man in the front passenger seat drinking a 40-ounce Miller Light. The man informed the officer he also had a “bag of weed” in his pants pocket. The man, a 21-year-old resident of the 7000 block of 16th, told police he was waiting for his brother to return. The older brother, age 30, of the same address, came back to the van and was cited for improper parking, illegal transportation of alcohol and no insurance. The younger brother got a ticket for possessing under 2.5 grams of marijuana.
Probably steals flowers off graves, too
June 20, 2007, 6:56 PM
Someone entered a yard in the 2800 block of Highland and stole four hanging baskets of plants.
Refresher driving course indicated
June 20, 2007, 4:07 PM
An officer saw a maroon Chevy van southbound on Highland roll through an intersection, rather than stop as indicated by the posted sign. The driver, a 30-year-old woman from the 2800 block of Ridgeland, was cited for the non-stop and for driving though her license had expired more than four years earlier.
Giving a fake name does not make tickets go away
June 20, 2007, 8:38 AM
A car blew a red light in the 2300 block of Harlem after being observed speeding 49 MPH in a 25 MPH zone. The driver gave the name “Brian Porcello” when asked. The state computer system, however, showed the name and associated photo did not correspond with the appearance of this driver. The man, who said his driver’s license was at home, then admitted his real name was Alfredo Reynoso, 25, of Cicero. He was ticketed for speeding, failure to signal when required, disobeying the stoplight, and driving with neither insurance nor license.
Bottles go for swim
June 20, 2007, 3:18 AM
Police checking the premises of the pool at Cuyler and 19th during the night noticed two brown glass beer bottles bobbing in the pool. The gate was locked, so they were unable to check for additional debris.