A 21-year-old LaGrange man reportedly fell asleep while driving and slammed his car into a two-story brick house in the 100 block of Michaux Road, Riverside, on March 17, buckling the living room wall and knocking over furniture.
Police reported receiving a 911 call at 1 a.m. from a man who said he had just driven into a tree. When officers arrived at the scene, they found that, indeed, a 2000 Honda Civic had barreled into a tree and into the house next to it.
The driver, David I. McDermott, reportedly told police he had fallen asleep at the wheel. Photos taken by police show that the car, headed northbound on Michaux, veered left across the parkway and the front yard, striking the tree and the corner of the house.
Police reported that McDermott appeared intoxicated and that he admitted to drinking several double shots of rum earlier that evening. According to police, McDermott’s blood-alcohol content was .192, which is over twice the legal limit of .08.
Burglaries in North Riverside
North Riverside police reported two home burglaries last week, with a third possibly averted because the home’s owner was present.
Between 11:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. on March 19, someone broke into a house in the 2300 block of Keystone Avenue by forcing open a side door. Two flat-screen TVs, a laptop computer and several pieces of jewelry were stolen.
A witness reportedly told police that he heard a “loud boom” at about 1 p.m. and saw two men carrying a flat-screen TV, but did not notify police.
On March 21 a resident of the 2400 block of Northgate Avenue reported to police that between 3 and 8 p.m. someone kicked in the back door, locked the family dog in the sunroom and stole three flat-screen TVs, two laptop computers, an iPod, several pieces of jewelry and a number of power tools.
Witnesses reported seeing a dark, possibly black, sedan in the driveway of the home between 3 and 4 p.m.
That same day in the 2300 block of Hainsworth Avenue, a homeowner called police to report a suspicious person. The homeowner was in the kitchen when a man entered the backyard through the alley gate and knocked on the front door.
The homeowner answered the door and the man asked to see “Chris or Juwan.” Told he had the wrong house, the man left the property through the alley gate.
Phony check scam nets $5,600
A currency exchange in Brookfield was scammed out of approximately $5,600 earlier this month when 18 bad checks were cashed in rapid succession on a Friday night just before the business closed.
According to Brookfield police, the majority of the checks were cashed within 10 to 15 minutes of each other at the Brookfield Currency Exchange, 9450 Ogden Ave., on March 5. The company notified police on March 15.
According to Brookfield police, the checks purported to be from a chain business that has a location on 47th Street in Brookfield. Most of the checks, some of which had the same serial numbers, were for amounts in the $350 range. The checks were cashed between 7:30 and 8 p.m., just before the business closed for the night.
Police said the scam was perpetrated at currency exchanges in other nearby communities recently, including in LaGrange, Darien and Downers Grove. The same ruse, using phony checks purportedly from the same business, happened about four years ago, police said.
Tire-slashing spree
During the overnight hours of March 17 and 18, Brookfield police reported that 14 vehicles parked in the 3800 block of Kemman Avenue, the 3800 block of Blanchan Avenue, the 3800 block of Morton Avenue, the 3800 block of Cleveland Avenue, the 3200 block of Raymond Avenue and the 3300 block of Arthur Avenue had one or more tires slashed or punctured.
A witness in the 3200 block of Raymond Avenue reported seeing three males wearing dark hooded sweatshirts waving flashlights walking in the area at about 4 a.m.
Battery, trespassing
Brookfield resident Brendan R. Krems, 21, was charged with battery, criminal trespass to a residence, damage to property and resisting arrest after he reportedly burst into a home in the 3400 block of Grand Boulevard at 12:45 a.m. on March 22 and began “beating people up.”
According to the police report, Krems, who apparently knew the victims, kicked in the front door, breaking the lock. He then allegedly struck a 40-year-old man in the face. Police responding to the scene reportedly had to take Krems to the ground to handcuff him.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments from March 15 to March 22 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