Orlando A. Coronel, 29, of Chicago, faces felony drunken driving charges after reportedly driving the wrong way down First Avenue in Riverside, forcing other vehicles to take evasive action on June 15 around 2:20 p.m.
Police initially responded to a 911 call reporting a reckless driver headed southbound on First Avenue from Ridgewood Road. The vehicle, a black SUV, was driving southbound in the northbound lanes, the caller reported, forcing other cars off the roadway.
Using an air horn and sirens, Lyons and Riverside police were able to stop the SUV, allegedly driven by Coronel, near Ogden Avenue. As an officer approached the SUV to interview Coronel, he reportedly threw a beer can out of the passenger side window.
Inside Coronel’s vehicle, police reported finding 24 empty beer cans and bottles, in addition to a cooler full of ice and beer-bottle caps.
When asked how much he had to drink, Coronel reportedly told police, “one beer.”
Coronel’s blood-alcohol content was .12, police said, which is more than the legal limit of .08. At the time of his arrest, Coronel’s driver’s license was suspended, according to police.
He was charged with felony driving under the influence, driving while suspended and illegal transportation of open alcohol in addition to several traffic offenses.
Police have filed paperwork to seize Coronels’ SUV, according to a press release.
Drugs stolen from CVS
Someone broke a cabinet lock to steal more than $1,600 in over-the-counter medications from CVS, 9139 Broadway Ave. in Brookfield, sometime prior to June 20, when the theft was discovered while checking inventory.
Forty-eight boxes of various allergy medicines were stolen from the locked cabinet, which is in a regular store aisle and accessible to customers.
DUI arrestee hospitalized
A man found unresponsive in his 1998 Toyota Camry in an alley north of the 8800 block of 47th Street on June 23 was transported to LaGrange Hospital for treatment of severe intoxication, according to police.
Police responded to the scene at about 8:50 p.m. after someone called to report that he could not wake up the passed-out 57-year-old driver of the Toyota, who still had his foot on the gas of his car, which was in park but was smoking from the engine revving.
An officer was able to rouse the driver and remove the keys from the ignition. Police also reported finding an empty vodka bottle on the passenger side floorboard. According to the police report, the driver’s blood-alcohol content was .305, which is almost four times the legal limit of .08.
In addition to DUI, police charged the driver with improper parking, no proof of vehicle insurance and illegal transportation of open alcohol.
Unwanted subject
Brookfield police responded to the 9500 block of Garfield Avenue on June 20 at about 5:30 p.m. after a resident called to report an unknown man swinging on a swing in the backyard of her home.
When police arrived, they confronted the 26-year-old Brookfield man, who appeared to be highly intoxicated, at the back door of the house, talking to the homeowner. The homeowner told police the man had also asked to use the bathroom.
The man was so intoxicated that paramedics ended up transporting him to Loyola University Medical Center for treatment.
Vehicle break-ins
North Riverside police reported two burglaries to vehicles in the same area on June 18.
A resident of the 2900 block of Lincoln Avenue called police to report that someone had entered her unlocked vehicle overnight and removed a bank passbook for a business account.
Meanwhile, a resident of the 8000 block of Edgewater Road reported that someone entered her vehicle, which likely was unlocked, and removed a purse containing a wallet, debit cards, identification cards, a handicapped-parking placard and $100 in cash.
Piano harp stolen
North Riverside police responded to the 2500 block of Burr Oak Avenue on June 15 at about 9:10 a.m. after a resident called to report that someone had stolen a grand piano harp from the side of the garage, where it was being stored.
The all-metal antique harp was stored inside a fenced yard, police reported, and was very heavy.
Bench taken from yard
A resident of North Cowley Road in Riverside contacted police on June 24 at about 8:15 p.m. to report that someone had stolen a green park bench from the front yard of her home.
The last time, the homeowner saw the bench intact was on June 22, but a week earlier she noticed that the bench had been moved from its spot, though it had not been taken at that time.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, June 15-24, 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
