A Cook County grand jury on July 26 indicted Cicero resident Magali Padilla, 24, charging her with one count of reckless homicide and one count of aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death.
Padilla is suspected of losing control of her SUV, hitting a curb near the intersection of Longcommon and Delaplaine roads and rolling the vehicle over, killing 26-year-old Cesar Ramirez, of Woodridge, who was reportedly a passenger in the vehicle.
The crash happened at 11:40 p.m., on Dec. 7, 2011, three minutes after Ramirez and Padilla left a gathering of co-workers at Lalo’s in Berwyn, according to police. Video surveillance footage from the restaurant reportedly shows Padilla getting into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and driving away from the restaurant.
Padilla’s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit, said police. Afterward, Padilla reportedly told police Ramirez was driving at the time of the crash.
Her bond was initially set at $350,000. However, the bond was later reduced to $100,000, and Padilla posted the 10 percent required to bail her out of Cook County Jail.
Beware of guys throwing objects
Riverside and North Riverside police have each reported incidents in the past two weeks of subjects throwing items at passing vehicles.
On July 14 at 9:10 p.m., Riverside police were called to the vicinity of Herrick and Cowley roads after someone reported a group of juveniles throwing water balloons at passing vehicles. Police searched the area but could find no subjects around.
Then on July 28 at 11:52 p.m., police responded to a complaint of unknown subjects throwing unknown items at passing cars in the vicinity of Longcommon and Shenstone roads. Officers could locate no one in the area.
Two hours later, on July 29 at 1:52 a.m., someone walked into the Riverside police station to report that someone had thrown eggs at his vehicle while he was driving in the vicinity of Longcommon and Shenstone roads.
At 2:15 a.m. on July 30, North Riverside police were dispatched to the area around Cermak Road and 14th Avenue after someone reported three men in their 20s throwing eggs at his passing vehicle from a gangway.
At 4:03 a.m. police were again called to the area for the same complaint. One of the complainants confronted the three subjects in the alley and they reportedly threw eggs, apples and a pipe at him.
Police searched the area and found two subjects in the 2400 block of 8th Avenue. When spotted, the subjects ran off and eluded police after an hour’s search.
Brookfield church burglarized
An employee of Faith Lutheran Church, 3801 Madison Ave. in Brookfield, arrived at work on July 25 to find that someone had broken into a church office overnight. Police reported that the door to the office had been forced open with a blunt object, breaking off a piece of the door frame and breaking apart the door’s locking mechanism.
Desk drawers appeared to have been rifled through and $60 in cash was missing. Police believe entry may have been gained through the front doors of the church, which might have been left open by mistake.
Watch where you wire cash
A 44-year-old Brookfield woman went to police on July 25 to report that a man she met online had failed to pay back any of the $52,000 she loaned him in the past six months.
The woman told police that the man, who purportedly lived in Chicago, contacted her after seeing her profile on the online dating website eHarmony. Since late January, the woman corresponded with him through Facebook and Skype.
During that time, she wired $52,000 to bank accounts the man provided to her, saying he would pay her back. To date, she has received no money back. Police reportedly told the woman that since she willingly wired the money, she needed to file a civil lawsuit against the man.
Break-ins at Boost
Two different Boost Mobile stores were broken into in North Riverside on July 24.
At 6:56 a.m. North Riverside police responded to the Boost Mobile store at 9259 Cermak Road after a burglar alarm was activated. Police arrived to find a front window pane shattered; the cash register, shattered, on the floor of the business; and a display case that appeared to have been opened. Several phones were found taken from a storage area.
At 8:03 a.m., police responded to the Boost Mobile store at 1750 Harlem Ave. A window on the west side of the building had been shattered and a back room door had been forced open. Phone accessories and two boxes of .45 caliber ammunition were taken.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, July 23-29, 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
