A man still recovering from being shot in the leg in Chicago and out on bond for alleged felony domestic battery and weapons offenses was unable to outrun Riverside police after he led them on a high-speed chase during which his 2007 Audi struck two other vehicles in Lyons on March 25 at about 6:40 p.m.
Hobbling from police with his leg in a cast, Chicago resident Giovanni Castrejon, 23, was taken into custody at Amelia Avenue and 44th Street in Lyons. A search of his vehicle, which he abandoned after it struck two vehicles at 43rd Street and Amelia Avenue, reportedly turned up two pounds of cannabis packaged for delivery, more than $19,000 in cash and several untraceable cellphones.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Castrejon with felony counts of possessing and delivering cannabis, aggravated fleeing and eluding police and several other offenses. He is being held at Cook County Jail without bond.
According to police, Castrejon is a self-admitted street gang member who has been arrested 30 times. Riverside police pulled him over in the 7200 block of Ogden Avenue for not wearing a seatbelt.
When the officer got out of his car, Castrejon reportedly took off. He was clocked at 70 mph, police said, during the chase.
Duo charged with car theft
Two suspected car thieves on the run from police were arrested by Riverside police after a call to a cab company led police to their location, according to a police news release.
Riverside police charged two men – Amir J. Johnson, 19, of Broadview, and Darien L. Jones, 18, of Maywood with one count each of felony auto theft for allegedly stealing a 2004 Mazda sedan in Oak Park on March 15.
Video surveillance from the Shell gas station at 7140 Roosevelt Road in Oak Park show that at 10:02 p.m. Johnson and Jones allegedly stole a vehicle that was left running at the pump while its owner, a 24-year-old Chicago resident, went into the gas station to buy food.
One of the suspects reportedly distracted the victim in the store, while the other man stole the car, drove about 50 feet and waited as the other man fled the store and joined him. Johnson and Jones then fled southbound on Harlem from Roosevelt, police said.
About three hours later, a Riverside police officer reported the Mazda driving recklessly at the intersection of Ogden Avenue and Lionel Road. The officer attempted to pull over the vehicle, which headed westbound on Ogden Avenue, but the driver fled to Lawndale Avenue and then east onto 45th Street in Lyons.
A search of the area was unsuccessful, but police later learned that at about 2 a.m. a local cab company got a call to take the two suspects to a location in Maywood. This led police to the offenders’ location on March 22, according to the press release.
Residential burglary
- Brookfield police responded to an apartment in the 9400 block of Ogden Avenue on the morning of March 23 after a tenant called to report that it had been burglarized sometime after the morning of March 18.
According to police, the offender made entry into the apartment’s living room by pushing a window air conditioner in from the outside. Once inside, the offender ransacked the apartment, removing a 42-inch Sony flat-panel TV, a Dell laptop computer, a Xbox One video game system, a Comcast TV router, a replica samurai sword, a Windows tablet, three Sony floor speakers, two men’s watches, a wallet containing state ID and a Visa debit card, a Digital Research home theater system, an Onkyo receiver, a briefcase containing miscellaneous papers and a jar containing about $10 in loose change.
- A resident of the 3000 block of Forest Avenue, Brookfield, called police on March 28 at about 8:35 a.m. to report that his home had been burglarized. The man arrived home to find an unknown man pacing near an unfamiliar silver sedan parked in the driveway to his detached garage.
When the victim approached the subject, he entered the vehicle, which drove away westbound on 31st Street through a red light at Prairie Avenue. The man entered his house and found that his dog had been placed in a bedroom with the door shut to keep it there.
Police observed no forced entry to the home. A Toshiba laptop computer was reported missing from an end table in the living room.
Fight over drug rehab
Riverside police charged a 21-year-old Stickney man with domestic battery after he allegedly struck a 21-year-old Stickney woman during an argument over drug use and who would be paying for the woman’s drug rehab.
Police responded to the parking lot of 7-Eleven, 2600 Harlem Ave., at about 10:35 a.m. on March 26 after receiving multiple calls about a disturbance there. Police learned that the victim was being driven by some friends to a drug rehab center in Chicago when a verbal altercation inside the car escalated into a physical confrontation.
Paramedics treated the victim for bruises and injuries to her scalp, where patches of hair had been pulled out during the fight.
A/C unit stolen
The owner of the property in the 9400 block of Congress Park Avenue, Brookfield, called police on March 26 to report that sometime after March 19 someone removed an air-conditioning unit, which was under a tarp next to his garage near the alley.
The unit had been sitting in that location under the tarp for about six months, according to police, and was valued at about $200.
Vehicle break-in
North Riverside police charged two Broadview men, ages 18 and 22, with criminal trespassing after a resident of the 9200 block of Cermak Road called police after seeing two subjects inside a neighbor’s vehicle on March 16 at 11:55 p.m.
Broadview police detained the two men, who were identified by the witness. The vehicle was unlocked and the two men reportedly admitted taking some loose change, which was returned to the vehicle’s owner.
Minivan stolen in North Riverside
A resident of the 8100 block of 27th Street, North Riverside, called police on the morning of March 20 to report that overnight someone had stolen a 2001 Chrysler Town and Country van parked in the driveway near the back of the house.
Dumpster diving
A Brookfield police officer reported that on March 21 at about 2 a.m., he was on patrol when he observed two female subjects inside the dumpster behind the CVS Pharmacy, 9139 Broadway Ave. and a male subject inside a 2014 Jeep Patriot that was idling nearby.
The officer approached and asked the women what they were doing and noted that there were about 15 cases of expired food items, cans and nail polish in the car. The woman told the officer that they didn’t know they were doing anything wrong and were sent away with a warning against entering dumpsters on private property.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, March 16-28, 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.
