Burglars made off with some $20,000 in cash from a North Riverside restaurant recently, kicking in doors and ripping down ceiling tiles in an effort to find loot to steal.

North Riverside police reported that the burglary at Mother’s Day, 8815 Cermak Road, took place between midnight and 6 a.m. on Sept. 12. An employee who opened the restaurant at 5:45 a.m. that day called the restaurant’s owner about the incident after finding ceiling tiles on the floor near the cash office.

Police reported finding nothing missing from two storerooms whose doors were kicked in. One of the doors was reportedly ripped from its frame.

Burglars gained access to the cash office, which was still dead-bolted shut, by kicking in the lower portion of the door. Police found the safe open, with papers and files strewn across the floor.

Burglary

Brookfield police reported that sometime between 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 19 and 9:10 a.m. on Sept. 20, someone shattered the passenger-side window of a 1997 Chevy Prizm parked in front of the garage of a home in the 3500 block of Grand Boulevard and removed the CD/cassette stereo. Pry marks were found on the trim of the broken window. The loss was estimated at $100.

Sometime during the overnight hours of Sept. 19-20, someone shattered the front passenger-side window of a 1994 Mercury parked on the parking pad of a residence in the 4100 block of Eberly Avenue, Brookfield, and removed a CD player, global positioning system unit and a purse containing $120 in cash, a credit card, IDs and keys.

Drug offenses

Brookfield police charged Matthew T. McNulty, 33, of Brookfield, with felony possession of a controlled substance after reportedly finding cocaine inside the vehicle he was driving just after 11 p.m. on Sept. 20.

According to the report, an officer reported that the vehicle McNulty was driving had a broken rear registration light and that a computer check revealed the vehicle’s owner had a suspended driver’s license.

After McNulty’s arrest for driving while suspended, police reported finding three clear baggies containing white powder, which tested positive for 3.4 grams of cocaine, in the vehicle’s open ashtray.

Riverside police charged Chicago resident Peter Torres, 32, with possession of a controlled substance after an officer reported a car headed south on Harlem Avenue from 26th Street at a low rate of speed and weaving between lanes.

According to the report, during the traffic stop, the officer noticed a white powder on Torres’ nose, upper lip and lap. He reportedly failed field sobriety tests and was arrested for driving under the influence. Police also reported finding a small bag of white powder, which field tested positive for cocaine, in Torres’ right sock.

Assault

Riverside police charged Elmhurst resident James R. Carlson, 42, with assault and disorderly conduct after he allegedly threatened a motorist he thought was trying to hit him with his car.

According to police, witnesses and the victim said that Carlson was on his bicycle in the vicinity of Bloomingbank and Burling roads on Sept. 15 around 6:10 p.m. when he rode in the wrong lane toward the victim, who was stopped at a stop sign.

The victim stated that Carlson, who appeared to be intoxicated, began yelling obscenities at him, threatened to beat him up and was advancing toward the victim when police arrived, according to the report.

After being arrested and brought into the station, Carlson reportedly threw a roll of toilet paper at the booking camera and stuffed his T-shirt down a toilet, causing it to overflow, and damage the floor in the report room.

DUI/weapons offense

Riverside police charged Lyons resident Dana C. Jones, 29, with driving under the influence and two weapons offenses in the wake of a traffic stop for speeding in the vicinity of Harlem and Ogden avenues on Sept. 21 around 5:30 a.m.

According to the report, Jones’ vehicle was stopped for traveling 49 mph in a 30 mph zone while southbound on Harlem Avenue from Olmsted Road. The officer stated that Jones appeared intoxicated and administered sobriety tests, which Jones reportedly failed.

During a subsequent search of Jones’ vehicle, police reportedly found a loaded Kel-Tec 9 mm handgun, with its serial number defaced, under the driver’s seat of the car.

In addition to DUI, Jones was charged with two felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments from Sept. 12 through Sept. 21 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