Police were called to the 7300 block of Madison Street when a man in a white van pumped used grease from the restaurant’s grease trap into a container inside his van. It was June 12, and the incident occurred at 8:02 p.m. The owner said he confronted the subject and asked what he was doing, because the owner usually sells his used grease. The subject, walking to his van, said, “I’ll pay you for it. I’ll pay you for it!” The owner said, “I don’t want your money. I’m calling the cops!”

The subject then pushed the owner, got into the van, and sped eastbound down the alley. The owner reported that the loss of the grease was only about $20, but he was angry because he thinks this has been going on for some time now due to the low returns he has been getting on reselling the used grease.

Bicycles stolen

  • A $400 men’s adult 10 speed bicycle was stolen out of a garage on the 1000 block of Ferdinand on June 12 between 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. The victim was doing work with a friend on the outside of the house and believes his associate drove away without closing the overhead garage door. This exposed his Raleigh bicycle, which was stolen. Nothing was damaged during the burglary and theft.
  • A resident on the 7200 block of Madison Street discovered his bicycle was missing on June 8 at 10:01 a.m. On Monday, June 8, he went to his truck and discovered that his bike had been taken from the back seat. The bike, a Cannondale 21 speed, was worth around $900.
  • A bicycle was stolen from 7-Eleven at 7749 Roosevelt Rd. on June 8 at 6:50 a.m. Police observed a female riding the Road Master men’s bicycle on Harrison Street near Circle Avenue. When asked to stop, the woman turned the bicycle into the Pine’s Restaurant parking lot and began riding eastbound, ignoring police requests to stop. She then crossed the street and rode onto the grass near the park district tennis courts. When the police car crossed Hannah Avenue and was traveling eastbound the bicycle struck the rear of the squad car and the rider fell to the ground. Police recognized her as someone they’d dealt with before. She told them: “That man had gave me his bike. I gave him $10 for it. The victim positively identified his bike “and was happy to get it back.” He decided not to pursue criminal charges.

Thief dons yellow vest

A thief donned a yellow vest and attempted to enter the “employees only” entrance on the west side of Walmart, 1300 Desplaines Ave., on June 12 at 4:46 p.m. He was told by an actual employee that he couldn’t enter through that door, so the yellow-vested thief entered through the main entrance. Employees monitored the thief via cameras, and noticed he was placing medicine bottles and boxes into a shopping cart and concealing them under multiple layers of clothing.

He then went through the garden section of the store and began handing items he had obtained to a woman standing outside the store. After transferring all the items to the woman, he left through the front entrance without paying.

The merchandise, recovered from outside the fence, totaled $440.46.

Man exposes himself on Blue Line train

A man with an outstanding warrant from the Chicago Police Department was stopped by police at the Blue Line station at 711 Desplaines Ave. for exposing himself to passengers on the train. Police were called to the station on June 12 at 9:29 a.m. after complaints of the man exposing himself. He denied the activity.

Officers told him he was not welcome any longer due to his inappropriate activity and ran his name through LEADS, which returned an active warrant from the CPD for failure to appear on a drug charge. The man was put into custody pending pick up from CPD.

Altercation erupts at Enterprise rental

An altercation at Enterprise, 7630 Roosevelt Rd., brought police out on June 11 at 3:22 p.m. The manager of Enterprise told cops that he was renting a car to a man who became upset and pushed him. The two had become involved in a verbal debate. The manager walked away to avoid confrontation, but the suspect followed him and shoved him in the back. Video footage verified this. The suspect left the scene in an unknown direction.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department, June 8-12, 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 Maria Maxham