Riverside police recovered a loaded .40-caliber handgun and more than 100 grams of cannabis packaged for sale from a vehicle involved in a head-on crash in the 3700 block of First Avenue on March 9 just after 5:30 p.m.
A passenger in that car, Matthew K. Coutee, 18, of Chicago was charged with felony possession of cannabis and felony delivery of cannabis. The driver, a 17-year-old Des Plaines boy, sustained serious injuries to his leg, knee and ankle, according to police, and underwent surgery at Loyola University Medical Center on Friday, March 10. Coutee was also hospitalized, but was released into police custody after midnight on March 10.
Police said the driver would be charged with drug, weapons and driving offenses when he was released from the hospital.
The two were in a 1999 Honda that reportedly crossed the center line of First Avenue and struck a 2007 BMW head-on near Waubansee Road. Individuals inside the other vehicle were treated at the scene by paramedics but were not transported to the hospital.
Police found the gun, a semiautomatic pistol loaded with 11 rounds, including one in the chamber, and the cannabis during a search of the 1999 Honda prior to it being towed from the scene.
According to police, speed played a factor in the crash. First Avenue between Ogden and Parkview was shut down for an hour as police investigated the crash.
Swastika scrawled on window
The owner of a business on East Avenue in Riverside called police on March 8 to report that someone had damaged two glass windows and scrawled a swastika on one of them a couple of days earlier.
The victim told police that two weeks earlier a woman and a small child came into his business asking if he would place a sign bearing the words “hate has no home here” in six languages in his front window. According to police, the business owner agreed and placed the sign in the window.
On March 6, the victim said the window to the front door of the business and a side window were damaged by a rock or other small object and that a swastika was drawn on the side window in black magic marker.
Vehicle break-ins
Brookfield police reported that someone entered at least five vehicles in the 3300 block of Oak Avenue and the 9500 block of Monroe Avenue overnight on March 12-13.
According to police, four cases of bottled water and some sales fliers were taken from an SUV parked in the 3300 block of Oak Avenue, while the inside of another SUV parked on the street was ransacked.
On the 9500 block of Monroe Avenue, an offender entered three vehicles parked on the street, taking loose change from one of them. The vehicles were left unlocked, police said.
Threat written in bathroom stall
Riverside police responded to Riverside-Brookfield High School, 160 Ridgewood Road, on March 10 at about 12:30 p.m. after a student reported seeing a threat written on the wall of a girls bathroom stall about a half-hour earlier.
According to the police report, the message in red ink stated, “Stay safe let everyone know the school is blowing up March 10 at 11:11.” The threat was discovered just before noon.
A police officer conducted a walk-through of the school and determined there was no threat.
Attempted nasal spray theft
A man in his 20s stuffed a gift bag with almost $550 in over-the-counter nasal spray products but dropped the bag as he ran out of the CVS at 8911 Ogden Ave., while being chased by employees, on March 8 at about 4:15 p.m., Brookfield police have reported.
The offender was described as a white male in his mid-20s, wearing a black beanie-type cap, a flannel shirt and black pants. The man fled the store when employees were alerted to what he was doing. He reportedly dropped the bag of products while running away, according to the report.
Felony DUI
Robert C. Young, 37, of Maywood, faces felony drunken driving charges after being stopped on March 12 at about 4:15 a.m. for speeding while northbound on First Avenue.
Police reported that Young appeared intoxicated and observed a cup filled with cognac inside Young’s 2005 Infiniti. Young’s blood-alcohol level was .14, which is almost twice the legal limit of .08.
At the time of his arrest, Young’s driver’s license was suspended due to a prior DUI conviction. As a result, the Cook County State’s Attorney approved upgrading the Riverside DUI charge to a felony.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, March 6 to March 12, 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
This story has been changed to clarify that the owner of a business on East Avenue in Riverside did place a “hate has no home here” sign in his window prior to the business being vandalized.
