Cyrus Chamanara, 36, of the 6900 block of Riverside Drive in Berwyn pleaded guilty to a felony count of stalking and telephone harassment May 16. He was sentenced to two years in prison and will receive 79 days as credit for time already spent in custody.
Chamanara stalked a Riverside Brookfield High School teacher for 14 years, according to a statement from Riverside police. He was arrested several times in Illinois, but was only charged with misdemeanors until his felony arrest by Riverside police.
Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said he believed the legal system previously failed the teacher and his family as he was harassed, followed and threatened over those 14 years. Weitzel said that because Chamanara was only charged with misdemeanors he was quickly able to bond out and avoid prison time.
According to Weitzel, Chamanara had a history of stalking others as well. In 2010, he was arrested for stalking former NBA player and coach Jeff Hornacek in both Illinois and at his home in Arizona. Weitzel said that Chamanara was convicted and sentenced to five years of felony probation in Arizona for stalking Hornacek.
Weitzel said he was pleased that Chamanara was sentenced to two years in prison and had additionally called on police in Paradise Valley, Arizona to revoke Chamanara’s parole status. At the time of his statement, no determination had been made on the request, Weitzel said.
‘Prolific’ Riverside burglar charged
Riverside police announced James M. Ussery, 23, of the 3400 block of Madison Street in Chicago was charged with felony burglary after he was arrested by Riverside detectives in Norridge May 27.
According to police, Ussery allegedly burglarized a home in the 100 block of North Cowley Road in Riverside overnight May 10. Police were told that the homeowner had gone to sleep at 12:30 a.m. and when he woke he discovered he had been burglarized. He told police that his wife and their five children had also been asleep in the home at the time of the burglary. Stolen were laptops, phones and other electronic equipment.
Police learned the burglar was able to enter the home by cutting the screen on a small, open kitchen window and crawling inside. After burglarizing the home, the burglar fled out the back door and left behind a bicycle that had allegedly been stolen about 30 minutes earlier in the 200 block of Longcommon in Riverside. Investigators were able to collect DNA and fingerprint evidence at the burglary scene, police said.
Riverside detectives were able to locate the family’s cell phone after they were alerted to the phones having been processed by a pawn shop in Norridge. The phones were then shipped to San Diego but were tracked and returned to police as evidence. Police were able to use the stolen property to identify Ussery, police said.
On May 27, police tracked Ussery to a fitness facility in Norridge and arrested him as he was playing basketball inside the gym.
Police said Ussery’s criminal record showed he was arrested 22 times and convicted six times for burglary. At the time of his arrest, he was on parole for a residential burglary in Oak Park. He was also being sought as a suspect in burglaries in Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn and Morton Grove, police said.
Ussery was charged with one felony count of burglary and one felony count of residential burglary for the crime that occurred in Riverside.
Mama Barone’s owner charged with battery
Police were called at 6:13 p.m. May 26 to Mama Barone’s restaurant, 9209 Broadway Ave., Brookfield, for a battery report. When an officer arrived, he reported seeing the owner, Anton F. Matous, 47, of Brookfield, yelling at a man in the parking lot.
According to police reports, the man, also of Brookfield, told officers he was looking for his 17-year-old nephew, who had been skipping school to work at the restaurant. The man told police he wanted his nephew to sign up for summer school. When he spoke to Matous about his nephew, he alleged Matous began yelling at him, came around the counter and grabbed him by the neck, reports said. Police photographed a large abrasion on the side of the man’s neck, reports said.
While officers interviewed the Brookfield man, they said Matous left the restaurant. At 7:30 p.m., Matous reported to the Brookfield Police Department and was arrested on a battery charge. He was released after posting bail.
Burglary
A burglary was reported at 7:58 a.m. May 27 in the 9000 block of Sheridan, Brookfield. Stolen were two bicycles worth a combined $800, two sets of golf clubs worth a combined $2,000 and a weed whacker and tiller worth a combined $200. The items were taken from an unlocked garage over the previous night.
Store, teen cited after purchasing alcohol
An officer on patrol reported seeing a group of teenagers at 4:17 p.m. May 24 in a vehicle parked in front of Phoenix Liquor, 8814 Ogden Ave., Brookfield The officer then saw a woman, who appeared to be underage, walking toward the vehicle in possession of alcohol. Police stopped the woman who initially told them that she had not purchased the alcohol, but that someone else had. She later admitted to police that she had purchased the alcohol and had not been asked for identification. The other underage occupants of the vehicle told police they had no intention of consuming alcohol and were released at the scene to their parents.
The store owner, a Brookfield man, was cited for selling alcohol to a minor. The 18-year-old Western Springs woman was also cited for possession of alcohol by a minor.
Possession of drug paraphernalia
A 29-year-old Brookfield man was cited at 2:34 a.m. May 25 for possession of drug paraphernalia after a glass pipe used to smoke marijuana was found in his vehicle when police conducted a well-being check in the 3900 block of Vernon.
Retail theft
An incident of retail theft was reported at 7:28 p.m. May 24 at CVS, 9139 Broadway Ave., Brookfield. Police were told a woman entered the store and allegedly stole items that included probiotics and Nasacort packages. Police were unable to locate a suspect.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, May 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 Mathew Hendrickson
