The following information was obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside and Brookfield police departments from March 7 through March 13 and represents a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Unless otherwise indicated, anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. The cases have not yet been adjudicated.
Riverside police are continuing an investigation that has already led to the arrest of one man, who allegedly stole personal checks from a resident and made bill payments with them. Police received a call from a resident who reported missing some personal checks that were kept in a basement bathroom. The homeowner had some remodeling work done on the house recently, and suspected the checks may have been taken then.
Bank statements showed several check numbers amounting to nearly $900 had been used to pay phone bills not belonging to the victim using telechecks. Police tracked the bills to Bellwood resident Lathan Lowery, 25, who was charged with theft, pending further investigation, which may result in further arrests, police said.
Battery/resisting
? Brookfield resident Shannon T. Griffin, 20, was charged with battery and resisting arrest after he allegedly shoved a police officer and then had to be wrestled to the ground after police had picked up his brother, who was wanted by police.
A Brookfield officer, accompanied by two Chicago Police detectives, went to the Griffin residence in the 9000 block of Sahler Ave. at 12:31 p.m. on March 8 in order to take into custody Seneca Griffin, 23, who was wanted on a DuPage County warrant and for questioning in connection with a Chicago auto theft investigation.
After taking Seneca Griffin into custody without incident, Shannon Griffin allegedly confronted police, and shoved the Brookfield officer in the chest before being subdued.
Crash
? An 83-year-old Brookfield resident was not seriously injured after his foot reportedly slipped off the brake of his car and onto the accelerator, causing his vehicle to plow into the side wall of Berthel-Lewis Electric, 9136 Broadway Ave. at 11:50 a.m. on March 11.
According to the report, the man was pulling out of a parking space at Tischler’s Foods when his foot slipped off the brake, struck another vehicle and then sped forward into the brick wall without braking. A third vehicle was also damaged in the incident. The man, who was not ticketed, refused medical treatment at the scene.
DUI
? Bellwood resident Gerald L. Smith was charged with driving under the influence after a Riverside officer was approached on March 11 at 10:49 a.m. by two motorists who reported that a man was asleep behind the wheel of his car in the roadway at the intersection Harlem and Ogden avenues.
The officer arrived on the scene and reported that he observed a man, later identified as Smith, passed out at the wheel of his car with two people trying to rouse him. Smith eventually woke up and allegedly began driving southbound, weaving in and out of lanes. The officer stopped Smith at Pershing Road, where he allegedly admitted drinking and failed field sobriety tests. He was arrested for DUI and brought to the station where a breath test revealed a blood-alcohol level of .06, which is under the legal limit. He was also charged with improper parking on a roadway and driving an uninsured vehicle.
? Riverside police charged Schiller Park resident Victor Flores, 29, with driving under the influence after an officer reported his vehicle heading northbound on First Avenue and 26th Street traveling 60 mph in a 35 mph zone and weaving between lanes at 3:30 a.m. on March 12.
Flores denied drinking and refused to take field sobriety tests, though the officer reported a strong odor of alcohol coming from Flores, who also refused to submit to a breath test after being arrested for DUI. He was also cited for improper lane usage, speeding, no insurance and not having a driver’s license on his person.
Theft
? The owner of a 2001 Ford F-250 pickup that was parked in front of a business in the 8800 block of 47th Street, Brookfield, reported that sometime in the overnight hours of March 7-8, someone removed the tailgate from his vehicle. The loss was estimated at $500.
? Sometime during the overnight hours of March 11-12, an unknown person using a pry tool attempted to enter a blue 2000 Kenworth semi-tractor parked in a lot behind 9140 Plainfield Road, Brookfield. The attempt was unsuccessful.
Criminal damage
? A resident of the 4000 block of DuBois Boulevard, Brookfield, reported that some time on March 7, someone damaged the windshield of a 2003 Mitsubishi four-door by hitting it three times with a blunt object.
? A resident of the 3800 block of Park Avenue, Brookfield, reported that some time in the overnight hours of March 12-13, someone had glued shut the driver’s side door lock on a 1994 Dodge Caravan. A similar incident was reported during that same time period in the 9400 block of Henrietta Avenue, Brookfield. The vehicle damaged was a 1999 Dodge van.
? A resident of the 4500 block of Park Avenue, Brookfield, reported that between 7 and 9:30 p.m. on March 13, someone broke out the driver’s side window of a 2000 Mitsubishi parked on the street in front of the residence.
?”compiled by Bob Uphues
