Berwyn Police Blotter
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Grove garage graffiti
April 11, 2007, 8:07 AM
On a routine patrol, an officer saw some initials in blue marker on a garage door in the 3700 block of Grove.
Fresno may want him
April 11, 2007, 4:58 AM
An officer in the 6800 block of 16th Street noticed a white Plymouth with Illinois registration double-parked while occupied. He asked the driver why he was stopped in the middle of the street. The 44-year-old man said he was just looking at a house because his friend lives there; if the lights were on, he was going to park and ring the doorbell. A check of driver Joseph B. Garcia’s name turned up an active arrest warrant out of the Fresno, California, sheriff’s department. Police called about this; the Fresno sheriff wanted Garcia held so he could be extradited. The car was towed. A delay in confirming the extradition later led to Garcia’s release, with his promise to cooperate if Fresno really does decide to extradite him.
Lane-weaving leads to arrest for man with really high blood-alcohol level
April 11, 2007, 1:27 AM
A police officer in the 7000 block of Cermak stopped a tan 1994 Pontiac he saw weave from the outer to the inner lane a couple of times. The driver, 38-year-old Jose M. Avila of West Chicago was asked to show his license and insurance card; instead, he handed the officer his cell phone. The officer asked again; Avila handed him his license and just sat there. The officer asked again for proof of insurance. Avila said “It’s in the glove box.” The officer requested he retrieve it. Avila opened, then closed, the glove box without retrieving a thing. The officer asked again. Avila said, “I don’t have it with me.” The officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol on the Avila’s breath and asked if he had been drinking. The answer was “a couple of beers”. Avila’s eyes were glassy and bloodshot; he was asked to get out of the Pontiac and perform a few sobriety tests, to which he agreed. In exiting the car, he was obliged to lean against it. He failed the balance test and the finger to nose test, after which he declined to do any more tests. He was arrested and read his rights. He did agree to a breath test, which showed his blood-alcohol level was .289. (Only .08 is needed for a DUI charge). He was ticketed for DUI, improper lane usage and no proof of insurance.
Nervous Cicero guy toting weed
April 10, 2007, 11:11 PM
A patrol officer noticed two guys in dark clothes standing on the corner of Cermak and Lombard. Because of a rash of graffiti in the area, the officer asked what they were doing. Both seemed very nervous and gave conflicting answers. The nervousness led the officer to frisk them for his own safety. At this point, the larger of the two, a 24-year-old Cicero man, stated he had some weed in a cigarette pack. He was ticketed after the officer found a bag of marijuana inside his pack of Newports.
Tools snitched from work van
April 10, 2007, 9:59 PM
Tools worth nearly $1000 were stolen from a work van a 32-year-old man parked in the 1500 block of Harlem while he was inside the VFW hall with his family. When he returned to the truck in the parking lot there, his lock was punched out and he was missing a combination tool kit, a saw, drills and miscellaneous hand tools.
Burglar gets into Cadillac on Gunderson
April 10, 2007, 9:01 PM
A woman reported that on April 7 she parked a beige 1988 Cadillac in the 2300 block of Gunderson. This morning she found its inside lights on, and checking further found the driver’s door lock punched out and the steering column partially stripped. Nothing was stolen, though.
Neighbor notices garage damage
April 10, 2007, 7:57 PM
The neighbor of a house in the 3800 block of Harvey noticed the home’s garage service door standing open. On closer inspection, the door jamb was seen to be split in half.
Burglar steals Toyota’s contents
April 10, 2007, 5:31 PM
A woman from the 1800 block of Elmwood reported her red Toyota Corolla was ransacked while parked in the 6900 block of Stanley. The burglar got in by punching out the passenger side door lock, and stole a cellphone, a Pioneer stereo faceplate, and a black Coach wallet containing credit cards, a state ID and $20.
Graffiti on Scoville
April 10, 2007, 3:31 PM
Gang-related and illegible words and pictures were found on a garage wall in the 1500 block of Scoville.
Brothers’ argument turns violent
April 10, 2007, 4:19 PM
Police responded to a call about a domestic disturbance in the 6500 block of 28th Place. There they found a 33-year-old man sitting on the stoop crying, with red welts and scratches on his face. He told police his brother slapped him in the face as they argued in their living room. Officers found the brother walking on Ridgeland, and took him into custody. The victim refused medical attention and did not wish to press charges, but because of his injuries an officer signed the complaint. The brother was charged with one count of domestic battery.
Mom won’t sign complaint against 17-year-old boy who grabbed, detained and yelled at her daughter
April 10, 2007,3:26 PM
A concerned citizen creported a teenage boy and girl were fighting in the street in the 2400 block of Elmwood. Officers found the two walking in the Elmwood/Gunderson alley of that block. The girl, 16, lived there; the boy, a 17-year-old from the 6700 block of 16th Street, had grabbed her arms and prevented her from entering her home. The girl struck the boy in the face while trying to free herself. The boy then pushed her into a garage and yelled at her. He was taken into custody. The girl’s mother was called to the station but she refused to sign a complaint or accept medical treatment for her daughter. The boy was released without charges. Mother and daughter were given a domestic violence information packet.
Victims start to ID their burgled stereos
April 10, 2007, 2:08 PM
Car-burglary victims began to show up at the police station to identify the stereo equipment found in the Ford Torino that led police on that pre-dawn chase.
Strange pattern distinguishes garage vandalism from usual boring graffiti
April 10, 2007, 11:54 AM
A woman approached a police officer in the 2100 block of Scoville to report that an apartment building she owns there had its garage door painted by vandals in an unusual manner: 15 yellow and 9 green 1-foot by 1-foot squares.
Tuesday Morning Graffiti Roundup
April 10, all morning
Graffiti in silver, white and black was seen on a fence and four garages in the 2400 block of Clarence and on a garage in the 2400 block of Wesley.
Unlicensed Joliet man stopped in Berwyn
April 10, 2007, 10:20 AM
No front license plate on a grey Honda Accord in the 1400 block of Harlem caused an officer to stop the car. The driver said he had left his license at home. In fact, it had expired over a year ago. Lawrence J. Lacking, 42, of Joliet was cited for driving unlicensed.