As the water level on the Des Plaines River began falling after the dam removal operation started last week, some odd things began to surface. Closer to the dam, there were old tires, a large metal canister and an old row boat.
But over on the bank near the intersection of Forest and Groveland avenues, someone found an old handgun.
On June 22 just before 5 p.m., a 53-year-old Riverside man called police saying he could see a gun in the river. Police recovered the weapon, a .38 caliber Colt revolver, which was badly corroded.
However, police were able to identify a serial number on the gun and determined that it was a model the company no longer makes. The revolver was not loaded, said police.
On June 23 at 11:24 a.m., a 29-year-old Chicago man called to report another new phenomenon made possible by the lower water. During the overnight hours, apparently, someone had walked along the newly exposed bank on the east side of the river near the Forest Avenue bridge and spray painted graffiti on the northeast wall by the bridge. The graffiti did not appear to be gang-related.
Previously the banks along the wall were under water, but had been exposed when the dam was notched three days earlier.
Gas pump tampering
The owner of the BP gas station at 2558 Desplaines Ave., North Riverside, reported to police on June 18 that, on the day before, someone pried open the service panels on two of the pumps, breaking the locks and damaging the panels. The damage was estimated at $500. The owner was unsure if the offender was able to dispense gas from the pumps after damaging them.
Battery to a cop
North Riverside police charged Hodgkins resident David V. Garcia, 33, with felony aggravated battery to a police officer and resisting police after he allegedly struggled with an officer trying to remove him from the Sweet Spot, 2531 Desplaines Ave. on June 24 at 2:18 a.m.
The officer reported seeing Garcia leaning across a car in the parking lot of the bar and asked him if he was OK. When the officer asked if he was involved in an earlier domestic trouble incident, Garcia reportedly walked to the door of the bar, opened it and screamed obscenities at the officer.
When the officer told Garcia to come outside so he could be ticketed for public intoxication and violating the villagefs noise ordinance, Garcia reportedly refused and then pushed the officer away and then struggled with the officer as he attempted to handcuff Garcia.
Garcia is being held at Cook County Jail on $10,000 bond.@
Pool, yard ornaments stolen
A resident of the 4600 block of Eberly Avenue, Brookfield, reported to police that some time between midnight and 4:30 a.m. on June 21, someone stole a 12-foot, round Intex inflatable pool from the backyard.
The pool, which was filled with water, had been drained. The pool was gone, but the filter was left behind.
Brookfield police responded to the 3200 block of Maple Avenue on June after a homeowner called to report that two yard ornaments had been stolen during the previous two days.
One of the items was a glass globe on a wire stand. The other was a glass globe on a concrete stand. The items were valued at $190.@
Jewelry store burglarized
Someone smashed the front window of a Brookfield jewelry store and made off with an unknown amount of jewelry during the early morning hours of June 25.
A motorist called police at 2:25 a.m. to report that the front window of G. Blando Jewelers, 9228 Broadway Ave., was smashed. Officers found shattered glass and two rings lying on the sidewalk in front of the business.
The window was broken with such force that police reported finding glass shards stuck in the wood paneling across the room. Multiple pieces of jewelry had been knocked off the shelves inside the business.@
Burglary arrest
Brookfield police charged Brookfield resident Angel Calleros, 19, with burglary after he reportedly entered a 2001 Dodge Intrepid parked by the front door of the Mobil gas station, 9137 Ogden Ave. at about 2:50 a.m. on June 25.
Calleros reportedly was with several friends who were trying to buy beer at the gas station and he reportedly told police his friends pressured him into taking something from the vehicle. His friends denied they pressured him, and told police they had no idea he planned to take anything from the car. @
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, June 18-25, 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
