A 44-year-old Downers Grove man found lying dead next to the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad tracks was likely struck by a passing train, but official word on the man’s death is pending review by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
Just before 5 a.m. on July 9, BNSF personnel called Brookfield police to report that a rail crew saw someone lying next to the tracks near the Prairie Avenue crossing. Police and paramedics responding to the scene found the man, later identified through fingerprints as Norman B. Zimmerman, roughly 170 feet east of Prairie Avenue between the railroad tracks and the Prairie Avenue train platform.
Disorderly conduct
Two Brookfield men and one juvenile were charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly ignoring warnings from police and launching water balloons and shooting squirt guns at fire trucks and firefighters in the Brookfield Independence Day parade on July 4.
According to the report, Police Chief Thomas Schoenfeld and another officer warned Stanley C. Sobyra, 49, of Brookfield not to throw water balloons or squirt water at parade participants, since previous episodes had disrupted the parade. But just before 10:30 a.m. when fire trucks came past the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Grant Avenue, Sobyra and two other family members reportedly let loose with both balloons and water guns.
In addition to Stanley C. Sobyra, Brookfield police also charged Stanley R. Sobyra, 25, and a 16-year-old boy with disorderly conduct.
DUI
LaGrange Highlands resident Ryan C. Minch, 21, was charged with driving under the influence and other offenses after he allegedly struck two houses with his 2002 Chevy Monte Carlo SS, left the scene of one crash and attempted to leave the other.
Police received a call from a resident of the 4500 block of Arthur Avenue just before 6 a.m. on July 2, who said that a vehicle was backing across the yard of a home in that block, when it struck the east side of the building. It then pulled away and struck the north side of the house before leaving the scene northbound on Arthur Avenue.
Police responded to the area to find Minch’s vehicle had crashed into a home in the 4400 block of Arthur Avenue. Minch allegedly told officers that he was trying to make a right turn onto Gerritsen Avenue from Arthur Avenue when a black Camaro cut him off, causing him to lose control and run into the house.
Minch then reportedly attempted to leave the scene, at which time he struck a tree in the parkway, and then tried to leave again, ramming into a fence before coming to a stop on Gerritsen Avenue just west of Maple Avenue.
Brookfield Fire Department personnel transported him to LaGrange Memorial Hospital for treatment. He was charged with DUI and a variety of traffic offenses, including failure to give information after an accident, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, improper turn, improper backing and damage to village property.
Riverside police charged Chicago resident Jovan Covington, 21, with DUI and other offenses after his vehicle left the roadway and struck a light pole in the 300 block of East Burlington Street just after 2:45 a.m. on July 1. Covington reportedly abandoned his vehicle and fled, but was apprehended near Harlem Avenue by police. After failing field sobriety tests and blowing a .143 on the Breathalyzer, Covington was charged. He was also cited for damage to village property, leaving the scene of an accident and leaving the roadway.
Theft
Riverside police charged Berwyn resident Emily Lund, 42, with two counts of retail theft after she allegedly stole novelty items, DVDs and CDs from the Minuteman gas station, 3346 Harlem Ave. on July 3 and July 5. Police received a call from store employees July 3 after a surveillance camera reportedly showed Lund taking the items without paying for them. Lund left the store before employees could review the tape.
But when Lund returned to the store two days later and allegedly put three DVDs and some novelty items inside her coat, employees called police, who arrested Lund.
Drug offense
Brookfield police charged LaGrange Park resident Eric P. Boburka, 23, with felony possession of a controlled substance after reportedly finding cocaine on his person during a traffic stop at 4:20 a.m. on June 30.
Initially, Boburka was stopped for reportedly driving his 2001 Dodge pickup the wrong way down Southview Avenue. He was arrested after police learned that he was driving on a suspended license. During a search, police found a Camel cigarette pack in Boburka’s left pants pocket. The pack allegedly contained a plastic vial containing a plastic baggy holding some white powder, which Boburka reportedly told police was cocaine.
He was also cited for possession of drug paraphernalia, driving on a suspended license and improper lane usage.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside and Brookfield police departments from June 30 through July 9 and represent 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.
?”compiled by Bob Uphues
