Police report pair of armed robberies

Forest Park police reported two armed robberies on March 28; they don’t appear to be connected.

The first to be reported took place about 11:15 p.m. in the 1500 block of Elgin Avenue. According to police, a resident reported that he parked his vehicle on a pad at the rear of his property and was approached by two masked men armed with semi-automatic handguns.

The first offender demanded money and then ordered him to lie face-down on the ground while they went through the victim’s pockets, taking his car keys, cellphone and wallet. The two offenders then ran in the direction of 15th Street.

Police later located the cellphone in a nearby yard. 

A 52-year-old taxi driver flagged down a police officer on April 1 to report that someone robbed him at gunpoint on the morning of March 28 at the CTA Blue Line Terminal, 711 Desplaines Ave. 

The taxi driver told the officer he was in his cab at about 8:30 a.m. on the south side of the terminal when a small black sedan pulled in behind his cab. A man got out of the sedan and told him he wanted a ride to the South Side of Chicago.

When the cab driver told the man he’d have to pay in advance, the man reportedly pulled out a “big black revolver,” put it to the taxi driver’s head and order him to hand over cash.

The cab driver said he gave the man $127, but the gunman told him it wasn’t enough and ordered him to take money out of an ATM inside the terminal. According to the cab driver, the gunman walked behind him, pressing the gun into his side. The cab driver withdrew $60, telling the gunman it was all he had.

After taking the cash from the taxi driver, the gunman ran back to the black sedan and got in the passenger side. The car was last seen exiting toward Desplaines Avenue.

The cab driver described the gunman as black, about 6 feet tall and 180 pounds with dreadlock-style hair. He was wearing a black jacket with a black hoodie and blue jeans. The driver of the compact black mid-1990s sedan was described as a heavyset black male.

According to the police report, the cab driver waited to report the incident because the gunman said he’d come back and kill him.

CTA Blue Line beatings

Two people reported being beaten in unrelated incidents at CTA Blue Line stations in Forest Park on March 28.

The first was reported about 11:50 a.m. at the CTA Blue Line Terminal, 711 Desplaines Ave. The 21-year-old male victim had a lump on his forehead and said he didn’t remember what happened.

A CTA employee said she observed the victim walking toward the turnstiles on the lower level when another man approached from behind and struck him in the head, knocking him down. The offender then stomped on the victim’s head while he was down before fleeing with a female to the north.

Paramedics took the victim to Loyola University Medical Center for treatment.

Police responded to the CTA Blue Line platform at Harlem Avenue about 5 p.m. after receiving a report of a 62-year-old man sitting on a bench and bleeding from his head and mouth.

The victim pointed out his alleged attacker, Antonio Davis, 29, of Chicago, who was still on the train. Davis reportedly attacked the victim after the victim asked him to stop smoking on the train and called the conductor when he refused.

Police took the victim, who suffered a dislocated finger and bruises to his head, neck and left eye, to Loyola University Medical Center for treatment. At the time of his arrest, Davis was wanted on two warrants for failing to appear in court for a pair of unrelated assault cases.

He was charged with aggravated battery to a senior citizen.

Unattended vehicle stolen

A 38-year-old man called police after someone stole his 2011 Dodge Ram truck, which was unlocked and running, from the lot at Thorntons gas station, 601 Harlem Ave., on April 1 about 1:55 p.m.

The victim said he parked his vehicle on the south side of the lot and ran into the minimart to buy something. A short time later he noticed his truck missing and ran outside to see it being driven southbound on Harlem Avenue before heading east on I-290.

Police located the vehicle, with the keys still in the ignition, in the 4500 block of West Jackson Boulevard in Chicago by tracking the victim’s cellphone.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, March 27-April 2, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.

—Compiled by Bob Uphues