Woman who struck bicyclist had alcohol, cocaine in system
Riverside police are reporting that a motorist who seriously injured an 8-year-old boy riding a bicycle when her car struck him in front of his house in the 300 block of Eastgrove Road on Sept. 14 was not only drunk at the time, but she also had cocaine in her system.
Lyons resident Cynthia L. Grosse, 66, was required to give blood and urine samples after the crash, which left the victim in a medically induced coma for a time. The boy later recovered and was released from the hospital.
On Friday, Oct. 30, test results from the Illinois State Police Crime Lab indicated that Grosse’s blood-alcohol content was .154, which is nearly twice the legal limit of .08, police said. In addition, police said, lab results detected the presence of cocaine.
Grosse was reportedly cutting through Riverside to avoid traffic on Harlem Avenue at about 5 p.m. when she struck the boy, who was riding his bike in front of his house with his two siblings, ages 11 and 6.
The children were riding in the driveway, but the 8 year old drifted out into the street as Grosse approached, said police. Grosse reportedly admitted to drinking throughout the day and officers reported recovering open alcohol inside her vehicle.
A grand jury in October indicted Grosse, charging her with four counts of aggravated DUI causing great bodily harm. At her arraignment Oct. 22, Grosse pleaded not guilty.
Grosse, who according to police has a prior arrest for drunken driving in 1986, remains in Cook County Jail awaiting trial. Her next court date is Nov. 18.
Probation for man who stole D96 computers
A 32-year-old Chicago man who stole more than $5,000 in computer equipment from Blythe Park and Central schools in Riverside during the district’s winter break in 2014-15 was sentenced to two years’ felony probation and fined $648 by a Cook County judge, police have reported.
Lamawr C. Palmer, who was a contract information technology employee, stole three iPads, two MacBook Pro laptop computers one Apple TV and two Apple desktop computers from the schools and sold them to pawn shops.
At the time, Palmer told police that he stole the items “because Riverside School District 96 has $30 million in the bank” and because the district “had stuff just laying around” to take.
The district IT director noticed that items were missing and worked with police to track what had happened to them.
Aggravated assault
North Riverside police charged a 42-year-old resident with aggravated assault after he allegedly threatened his wife with a knife during an altercation inside their apartment in the 8000 block of Edgewater Road on Nov. 4 at about 12:15 a.m.
The woman locked herself in a bathroom with one of her sons and called police. When officers arrived, they arrested the man, who appeared to be highly intoxicated, according to the police report.
The victim told police her husband had been drinking alcohol and became abusive towards her and their two children. The victim stated she tried to ignore her husband and went to bed, but that her husband came into the bedroom with a butcher knife.
Car hits gas station
Riverside police cited a 45-year-old Riverside woman for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident after she reportedly mistook the gas pedal for the brake and drover her 2013 Kia into the Marathon gas station at 539 Longcommon Road on Nov. 9 at about 6:45 p.m.
The building sustained damage to its foundation and façade, but it was determined to be structurally sound enough to allow it to remain open for business.
No one was injured.
Burglary from motor vehicle
- Two 14-year-old Chicago boys were charged with burglary to a vehicle after security employees at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, alerted police to a burglary in progress in the Carson Pirie Scott parking lot on Nov. 7 at about 7:40 p.m.
Police detained two subjects matching the description given by security and reviewed surveillance video, which reportedly showed one of the two boys enter a black 2002 Chevy Monte Carlo while the other rummaged through the trunk. Missing from the car were a pair of Air Jordan sneakers valued at $200 and a piece of stereo equipment.
Police reported recovering the shoes under a car in the parking lot.
- North Riverside police responded to the parking lot of Carson Pirie Scott at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, on Nov. 5 after a 22-year-old Northlake man reported his vehicle had been burglarized.
The victim told police that as he was walking back to his 2001 Chevy Tahoe at about 5:05 p.m., he saw a subject wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt standing by the open driver’s side door.
When the victim ran towards his vehicle, the subject ran to a nearby Ford Explorer with temporary plates and jumped in the passenger seat. The Ford left the area to the south.
The victim reported a Kenwood radio valued at $350 was taken from the Chevy. The vehicle’s driver’s side door handle was also pried away.
- A resident of the 2300 block of Desplaines Avenue, North Riverside, reported that his 2000 Chevy Blazer had been broken into between 3 p.m. on Oct. 31 and 4 p.m. on Nov. 2.
The victim told police that the vehicle likely was unlocked. He found the passenger side door slightly ajar and that the glove box and center console had been rifled through. Nothing of value was reported missing from the vehicle.
Attempted scam
A North Riverside man called police on Nov. 2 after a man purporting to work for a roofing company that the resident had hired tried to collect $300 for spraying a silver coating around the chimney of his house.
The subject knocked on the door of the home in the 2200 block of Burr Oak Avenue at about 3:30 p.m. and said the contractor had sent him to do some work on the roof. After spraying the silver substance around the chimney, the subject told the resident he owed $300.
The resident responded that he was paying the contractor for the entire job and refused to hand over any money. The contractor confirmed he hadn’t sent anyone to the house to do any work.
Student charged with selling pot
Riverside police charged a 17-year-old Riverside Lawn boy with a felony count of dealing cannabis on school grounds after he reportedly showed up at Riverside-Brookfield High School at 11 a.m. on Nov. 4, apparently under the influence of drugs.
When stopped by school security, the boy reportedly had individually packaged bags of cannabis, which he reportedly intended to sell to other students, on his person.
Police also contacted the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services and say they’re investigating possible charges against the mother.
Criminal damage to property
An employee at a business in the 9200 block of Broadway Avenue, Brookfield, contacted police on the morning of Nov. 3 to report that someone had damaged the locks on the entrance doors.
The employee told police no one had been at the office since Oct. 29 at 9 p.m. Police reported that an unknown substance had been sprayed into the locks on the south and west entrance doors to the building.
The locks had to be replaced.
DUI
- Riverside police charged a 19-year-old Riverside resident with driving under the influence of cannabis after he allegedly drove into a parked car in the 100 block of Scottswood Road on Nov. 6 at 9:30 p.m.
The driver reportedly told police he had reached down to pick up some food, took his eye off the road and struck the parked car. Police also reported that the man smelled strongly of cannabis and that they found a bag containing three grams of cannabis inside the vehicle.
- North Riverside police charged a 42-year-old Cicero woman with driving under the influence of alcohol after an officer reported seeing her drive a 2015 Toyota Corolla northbound in the southbound lanes of traffic in the 2600 block of Desplaines Avenue on Nov. 7 at about 12:50 a.m.
The woman told police she was driving home from a Brookfield tavern. She failed field sobriety tests and a breath test reportedly showed that her blood-alcohol content was .178, which is more the twice the legal limit of .08.
Stolen vehicle recovered
North Riverside police responded to the 2300 block of Hainsworth Avenue on Nov. 4 at 8:10 p.m. after a resident called to complain that a 2011 Subaru Legacy was blocking her garage.
Police determined that the vehicle was reported stolen out of Berwyn on Nov. 3 and had it towed from the scene.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Oct. 30-Nov. 9, 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.
