Brookfield police announced last week that they have arrested an 11-year-old Brookfield boy in connection with six fires set on April 27 and 28 in the alley between the 3200 and 3300 blocks of Arthur and Maple avenues.

The boy, who was petitioned to Cook County juvenile authorities, was charged with arson and six counts of criminal damage to property.

Brookfield Deputy Police Chief Michael Manescalchi said that police developed their suspect after a two-week investigation that included interviews with residents of the area and emergency personnel who responded to the scene.

Five of the fires were set within a three-hour period on the afternoon of April 27. In four instances, garbage or recyclables were set afire. A fifth fire was started by lighting a pile of mulch.

On April 28, a sixth alley fire was reported in the 3200 block of Arthur/Maple.

Police would not comment on whether the same boy may have been responsible for a serious fire set in the early morning hours of May 6 in the alley between the 3200 blocks of Elm and Park avenues.

One garage was destroyed and a second seriously damaged in that fire, which also damaged two homes and charred a utility pole, sending a live wire arcing across the ground.

That fire is still under investigation, police said.

Drug arrest

Brookfield police charged 35-year-old Dominick A. Novak, of Lemont, with one felony count of possession of a controlled substance after a traffic stop near Lincoln School at 11:40 a.m. on May 14.

According to the police report, an officer on patrol observed Novak driving his black 2004 Monte Carlo, which had dark-tinted windows, traveling slowly past Lincoln School while westbound from Custer Avenue on Shields Avenue.

After making a U-turn between Prairie and Vernon avenues, the car stopped. A passenger exited the vehicle and entered a dumpster on the parkway. The car continued eastbound and then turned south on Prairie Avenue, where a traffic stop was effected.

During the stop, the officer stated that Novak appeared “unusually nervous.” After receiving consent to search the vehicle, an officer reported finding a small, torn, green plastic baggy with a white powder residue on the driver’s seat.

The officer also found two similar torn baggies on the pavement near Novak’s feet. One was empty, and one contained .02 grams of a white powder that reportedly field tested positive for heroin.

Police also reported recovering a $5 bill coated with a white powdery residue and torn portions of green baggies from Novak’s jacket.

Retail theft

A 12-year-old Berwyn girl was petitioned to juvenile authorities for a felony count of retail theft after reportedly walking out of J.C. Penney at North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, without paying for any of the 22 items of jewelry reportedly found in her possession.

A second 12-year-old Berwyn girl, who reportedly was seen by store security selecting items and passing them to the other girl, was not charged. In all, the jewelry was valued at just under $340.

Burglary

A resident of the 4300 block of Forest Avenue reported that someone broke into his Ford F-150 pickup truck and removed the satellite radio receiver attached to the dashboard. The radio was valued at $350.

The car was parked along the 8800 block of Congress Park Avenue at 6 p.m. on May 11. At 7 a.m. on May 12, the owner found that the driver’s side window had been shattered.

DUI

Riverside police charged Stickney resident Shawn M. Sherwin, 34, with driving under the influence after being stopped for allegedly driving 55 mph in a 30 mph zone while southbound on Harlem Avenue at 4:30 a.m. on May 12.

Sherwin reportedly told police he was arguing with his girlfriend on his cellphone. He appeared intoxicated, police said, and failed two of three field sobriety tests. Although Sherwin reportedly failed a portable breath test at the scene, he refused to take the breath test at the station.

Brookfield police charged Countryside resident Brian C. Costello, 32, with driving under the influence after an officer stopped him for allegedly speeding and driving erratically while eastbound in the 9000 block of Ogden Avenue just after 2:15 a.m. on May 19.

Police stated that Costello failed field sobriety tests and that a breath test revealed his blood-alcohol level to be .266, which is over three times the legal limit of .08. He was also cited for illegal transportation of open alcohol and several traffic offenses.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments from May 7 through May 19 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. The cases have not been adjudicated.

-compiled by Bob Uphues