A Berwyn man who tried to get tough with undercover police working on a West Suburban Directed Gang Enforcement task force assignment in Lyons was arrested Nov. 5 by Riverside police and charged with possession of heroin.
According to the police report, the officers were in an unmarked car in the parking lot at the Presidential Inn, 3922 S. Harlem Ave. At 9:21 p.m., Robert J. Miller, 49, of Berwyn drove his red Mercury Cougar in to the lot, reportedly almost striking the police car.
When the officers questioned him about his driving, Miller allegedly offered to fight the officers, who promptly arrested him.
During a pat down of Miller’s person, police reportedly found a clear plastic baggy containing seven small tinfoil packets containing a white powdery substance, which reportedly field-tested positive for heroin. Miller was taken to the Riverside police station for processing. He was also charged with driving on a suspended license.
The vehicle’s female passenger, 38-year-old Cicero resident Tammi Danhoff, was also arrested when police learned there was a warrant for her arrest for possession of a controlled substance. She was taken to the Lyons police station for processing.
Vehicles burglarized
North Riverside police reported that between 2 a.m. on Nov. 8 and 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 9, someone removed a large shopping bag containing birthday cards (each with cash inside), several sweatshirts and other clothing and one bank check from a 2002 Jeep Wrangler parked in the 2300 block of 3rd Avenue.
The 30-year-old male victim told police that the vehicle was unlocked.
A 46-year-old North Riverside resident reported to police that some time between 5 p.m. on Nov. 9 and 7:25 a.m. on Nov. 10, someone had burglarized his 2000 Mercury Sable, which was parked in the 2300 block of 10th Avenue, North Riverside.
The glove box and center console were ransacked and the offender also removed a blue plastic bin containing jumper cables, an air compressor, a tool case and other items from the trunk.
A 20-year-old Joliet man told North Riverside police on Nov. 14 that between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., someone broke into his 1995 Chevy Tahoe, which was parked in the food court lot at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road.
The driver’s side door lock had been punched out and a Pioneer CD/stereo player, an amplifier and several bags of clothing were taken.
Credit card fraud
Two Brookfield residents were victims of credit card fraud last week, according to Brookfield police.
On Nov. 9, a 54-year-old Brookfield man reported to police that he received a bill in the mail from MasterCard, listing over $200 in cosmetics purchases he did not make. When he called the credit card company to complain, the man was told that in the previous several days some $4,300 in purchases had been made with the credit card.
Then on Nov. 12, a 45-year-old woman walked into the Brookfield police station to report that someone had been using her bank debit card without authorization.
The woman said she received a call from someone at the First National Bank of Brookfield who said that several charges between $5 and $50 (totaling $200) had been made on the card between Nov. 9 and 11.
DUI
Riverside police charged Chicago resident Eric J. Ramirez, 22, with driving under the influence after an officer reportedly observed him driving a white Dodge across the double yellow line while southbound in the 3700 block of Harlem Avenue at about 1 a.m. on Nov. 14.
Ramirez reportedly stopped at the light at 39th Street, but accelerated quickly when the light turned green, hitting 67 mph in a 30 mph zone. After being pulled over and reportedly failing field sobriety tests, Ramirez was arrested for DUI.
His blood-alcohol level, police said was .142, which is nearly twice the legal limit of .08.
Maywood resident Jeremy R. Purnell, 27, was charged with DUI and driving too slow after a Riverside police officer reported seeing a silver Toyota with two flat passenger side tires traveling at 10 mph in a 35 mph zone while northbound in the 3200 block of First Avenue just after 4 a.m. on Nov. 15.
According to the report, Purnell told the officer he didn’t know what made the tires blow out. Purnell’s blood-alcohol level was reportedly .154, which is nearly twice the legal limit.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments from Nov. 5 to Nov. 15 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 Bob Uphues
