A Minnesota woman dubbed “one of the worst DUI offenders in the United States” by Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel was indicted by a Cook County grand jury on April 26 for seven counts of felony aggravated drunk driving.
Tasha Lynn Schleicher, 41, has been held at Cook County Jail since her bond hearing on April 4. Riverside police arrested her April 2 in the parking lot of a Harlem Avenue gas station.
She reportedly had an open bottle of apple-flavored whiskey in the car and allegedly was so impaired that she had pulled her car up to a kerosene pump.
Schleicher, according to police, has been arrested for drunken driving at least seven times in as many states. At the time of her arrest in Riverside, she was wanted on warrants in Nebraska, Idaho and Oregon.
Weitzel said Schleicher had avoided jail in the past, in part because she used aliases and multiple Social Security numbers when arrested previously.
After she was arrested for DUI in September 2017 in Rochester, Minnesota, the state’s Child Protective Services Department took custody of her 11 children, ranging in age from 17 to infancy. She reportedly had five children under the age of 10 in the car with her at the time of the Minnesota arrest.
Riverside police reported that Schleicher was passing through Chicago after having dropped off her 15-year-old son in Indiana “to party” with a relative. She reportedly had taken him out of foster care to make the drive.
Riverside police had charged her with felony DUI and driving on a revoked license. After hearing police testimony, the grand jury added multiple felony counts of driving under the influence, police said.
Schleicher’s next court appearance is May 14 at the Maybrook courthouse.
Note-bearing rock thrown at residence
A resident of the 4100 block of Arthur Avenue, Brookfield, called police on April 30 to report that sometime between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. someone threw a brick through the glass storm door to her home.
To the rock was tied a hand-written note alleging some sort of past offense made by someone who, according to police, at one time lived elsewhere on the block. Police believe the rock-thrower targeted the wrong residence.
Burglary to motor vehicle
A 37-year-old Oak Park man called North Riverside police on April 26, a day after he believed someone broke into his car as it was parked in the lot at the North Riverside Park mall, 7501 Cermak Road.
The victim told police that he drove home from the mall on April 25 and locked his car in his garage overnight. The next day he noticed the passenger side door lock punched out and discovered items missing from his car, including numerous power and hand tools as well as fishing gear.
Car tires slashed
Riverside police charged a 43-year-old Berwyn man with criminal damage to property after he allegedly slashed the tires of a car belonging to the boyfriend of his estranged wife in the 200 block of East Burlington Street just after midnight on April 28.
Police responded to the scene after getting a call about a man banging on the windows of a residence. Upon arriving police confronted the suspect inside his vehicle nearby. A witness told police the man had punctured the tires of a vehicle parked in the vicinity.
The man reportedly admitted puncturing the tires with a knife, but police were unable to locate it.
Brookfield police reported two incidents last week where someone slashed the tires of vehicles parked on the village’s south end on April 29.
The first was reported by a resident of the 4500 block of Deyo Avenue. In that case, someone punctured the passenger side rear tire of a car parked at the rear of the residence. The same car had been damaged by someone in February.
A resident of the 4500 block of Sunnyside Avenue also called police on April 29 to report that someone punctured the rear passenger side tire of her vehicle, which was parked on the street.
Stolen car eludes police
A North Riverside police officer on patrol in the 1800 block of Harlem Avenue on April 28 at about 3:40 p.m. ran the registration of a black Ford Explorer, which came back stolen out of Chicago on April 19.
The officer attempted to stop the vehicle, which fled at high speed. Police terminated the pursuit at Cermak Road and Austin Boulevard in Cicero.
Bike stolen from porch
Brookfield police responded to a residence in the 3200 block of Oak Avenue after a resident called to report that someone stole his Schwinn Meza 18-speed bike from the front porch between 5 and 7:30 p.m. on April 26.
Jewelry stolen from home
Brookfield police responded to a home in the 3800 block of Hollywood Avenue after a resident reported on April 23 that jewelry valued at more than $8,000 missing from her bedroom.
Because the house is listed for sale and has a lockbox, police requested and obtained a list of people who had access to the house at the time the theft is believed to have occurred. The investigations continues.
Anti-cop graffiti reported
Brookfield public works employees removed vulgar graffiti that named a specific Brookfield police officer after receiving a report that the message had been spray-painted on the façade of the Brookfield Bowl, 3415 Maple Ave. on the morning of April 24.
A witness reported seeing a man wearing a hooded jacket and accompanied by a “pointer-type” dog in front of the building around 4 a.m.
Similar graffiti was also discovered that morning as short distance away on the rear wall of Tischler Finer Foods, 9118 Broadway Ave.
DUI suspect strikes Memorial Circle
A 31-year-old Oak Brook man was charged with drunken driving after he reportedly drove his 2013 BMW into the center of the Veterans Memorial Circle at Eight Corners in Brookfield on April 27 at about 12:45 a.m.
Witnesses told police the BMW blew the stop sign while going northwest on Grand Boulevard and did not brake before striking the curb, jumping it and landing in the middle of the circle.
The driver’s blood-alcohol content reportedly was .163, which is more than twice the legal limit of .08. In addition to DUI, he was also charged with damage to village property. No one was injured.
Hit and run at Eight Corners
Brookfield police continue to seek the driver of a gray car that reportedly struck a 16-year-old girl riding a bicycle as she crossed Grand Boulevard at Eight Corners on April 25 at about 9:15 p.m.
The cyclist was in the crosswalk when the car struck the rear tire of the bike, knocking the girl to the ground. She was not injured according to police. The vehicle drove away and was last seen headed southbound on Grand Boulevard.
The vehicle was described by witnesses as being a gray sedan, possibly a Mustang or a Camaro with a white stripe along the side.
Street light on fire
Brookfield firefighters were called to the intersection of Monroe and Oak avenues on April 26 at about 8:20 p.m. after someone called to report a street light on fire. After the fire was extinguished, investigators discovered that a bird had built a nest in the light housing.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, April 23-30, 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
