Flowerpot takes temporary flight at Ferrara
A temporary Ferrara employee called police about 5:10 a.m. on Aug. 10 from the intersection of Marengo and Harrison, saying another worker had just tried to rob him.
The man arrived at Ferrara Candy Company, 7301 Harrison St., early that morning, and went into the plant parking lot to make a phone call. While on the phone, another temporary worker allegedly jumped out of the bushes and threw a flowerpot at his head. The victim ducked, but the man reportedly pulled out a big knife, sliced the air and yelled, “You got my phone, you stole my phone!”
He then fled toward the Forest Park Blue Line station. The victim told police he didn’t know the man’s name but recognized him as another temporary employee at Ferrara. Officers went to REM Staffing, which provides temporary workers for Ferrara, where employees there told police they did not keep a database of their workers since they have so many thousands.
Suspicious Uber driver offers ride
A woman said she had a suspicious encounter with an Uber driver at the intersection of Harlem and Roosevelt at 6:38 p.m. on Aug. 6, according to a report from the Riverside Police Department.
The woman said she requested an Uber but then cancelled the order, deciding to take the bus. While waiting for a bus, a man claiming to be an Uber driver pulled up, said he would take her where she needed to go and that the ride was already paid for. She declined.
Fight at Thornton’s
Police responded to a call of three women fighting at Thornton’s gas station, 601 Harlem, at 2:33 a.m. on Aug. 7.
The women said they went out together that night, but two of the women reportedly got in a fight about a man and one of the women allegedly snatched the other’s phone and threw it to the ground, then began punching her in the face and pushed her to the pavement. The victim was transported to the hospital.
The woman said the whole fight was over some car keys that belonged to a man who was no longer on scene. Police said she was highly intoxicated. They cited her for public fighting and charged her with battery.
Thief rides off with U-Haul
A Chicago man rented a U-Haul vehicle on Aug. 4 and failed to return it to 801 Harlem by the time it was due the next day. An employee said they called the man repeatedly about returning the U-Haul, but did not receive a response. Forest Park police entered it as a stolen vehicle on Aug. 10.
Three garages broken into
Sometime between 2 and 7 a.m. on Aug. 9, someone stole two bikes valued at $1,600 total from a garage on the 900 block of Dunlop. The victim said his backdoor and garage door were unlocked.
During the night of Aug. 7, someone stole two drills, a saw, air compressor and battery from a garage on the 500 block of Beloit. The victim said she left her garage door open overnight.
Just before 2:09 p.m. on Aug. 7, someone stole a snow blower valued at $300 from a garage on the 800 block of Dunlop. The victim said she parked her car in her garage, went inside her house briefly, leaving the overhead door of the garage open for a few minutes and, when she returned, the snow blower was missing.
Phone taken from two-flat
A woman walked to the bottom floor of her two-flat about 7 a.m. on Aug. 7 and found a man standing in her living room on the 900 block of Circle.
She asked him what he was doing and he replied that he was talking to her husband. The woman said her husband wasn’t in the room, and asked the man to leave. The man left without incident.
After telling her husband about the man in the living room, he seemed surprised someone was in their house and said he hadn’t been talking to anyone. Later, she noticed her Verizon flip phone, valued at $160, was missing. The victim believes the man entered her home through an unlatched screen door.
‘Secret shopper’ scam
A 70-year-old man told police at 4:33 p.m. on Aug. 10 that he purchased several gift cards as part of a “secret shopper” scam. The man, who lives on the 100 block of Rockford, said he was contacted via email, asked to buy the gift cards, and then send photos of them to the “secret shopper.”
The “secret shopper” then deposited a check for $2,783 in the man’s US Bank account, which did not clear. The victim was charged $791 for the false check by US Bank.
License plate lifted from Jeep
Between Aug. 8 and 9:23 a.m. on Aug. 11, someone stole a temporary license plate from a Jeep parked on the 1000 block of Desplaines.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, Aug. 5-12, 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 Nona Tepper
