A 29-year-old Cicero man faces felony weapons charges after he allegedly pointed a loaded gun at a security guard at North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, on March 8 about 3:20 p.m.

Security and police initially were responding to a report of a stolen cellphone involving three offenders. Two of the alleged offenders were able to elude security, but a security guard was able to locate David R. Alvarez in the upper level of the east parking deck.

As the security guard ordered Alvarez to wait until police arrived, Alvarez reportedly pulled out a Glock 43X handgun and pointed it at the security guard before running away into the east mall parking lot.

Alvarez disappeared behind a large snow bank and then was seen walking away to the northeast. Police took him into custody and reported finding the handgun, loaded with 10 rounds, including seven rounds of hollow-point ammunition, behind the snow bank.

The Cook County State’s Attorney approved filing two felony charges against Alvarez, one for unlawful use of a weapon and one for aggravated assault. He was also banned from the mall.

Vehicle hijacking

A 44-year-old Chicago woman called North Riverside police on the night of March 13 to report that her 2011 black Dodge Durango had been taken from her by force in the west parking lot of Chili’s, 7225 Cermak Road.

The woman told police she parked the car about 8 p.m. in a handicap space in front of the Chili’s to-go entrance. As she exited the vehicle, the victim said a man approached her, forced her out of the vehicle and threw her to the ground before getting into her SUV and leaving the area.

The victim said her cellphone and driver’s license were also inside the vehicle. Police drove the woman home and continue to investigate the vehicular hijacking.

Catalytic converter thieves strike twice

North Riverside police responded to two locations in the village on March 13 after getting a pair of calls about catalytic converters being removed from vehicles. In both instances surveillance cameras caught the incidents.

A resident of the 2300 block of 13th Avenue called police to report that someone had removed the catalytic converter from his vehicle, which was parked on the street. They also responded to an address in the 2400 block of 5th Avenue.

Surveillance video in each instance showed what appeared to be a gray Dodge Charger pull up next to each vehicle between 6:25 and 6:40 a.m. In the span of about one minute, two men get out of the Charger, lift the vehicle with a jack and remove the catalytic converter with a power tool.

Road rage

A man went to Riverside police on March 16 at about 9:45 a.m. to report that he was the victim in a road rage incident that occurred on First Avenue at Ridgewood Road.

The victim told police that he was driving southbound when someone in a red Nissan Sentra threw a water bottle at his vehicle and started yelling about being almost run off the road.

When two vehicles stopped at Ridgewood Road, the driver of the Nissan exited his vehicle, approached the victim’s and punched the passenger side front window, knocking it off its track. The man then reentered his vehicle and drove away.

Car stolen from restaurant lot

A 22-year-old Berwyn woman called police on the night of March 10 to report that her red Ford Mustang had been stolen from the parking lot at Raising Cane’s, 2514 S. Harlem Ave.

The woman said her brother had been using the vehicle and had left it parked and unlocked, with the keys inside the center console.

Gang graffiti

North Riverside police responded to the 2300 block of 17th Avenue on March 8 after receiving a report of gang graffiti being scrawled on a vehicle parked in the alley. Police reported that the graffiti on a Mercedes-Benz S500 was written in blue marker and appeared to be gang-related.

Similar graffiti, also scrawled in blue marker, was found on a building in the 2200 block of 17th Avenue, according to police.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, March 9-16, 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.