The Cook County State’s Attorney charged a 21-year-old Chicago man with possession of a stolen motor vehicle after North Riverside police arrested him during a traffic stop in the 2400 block of Harlem Avenue on June 8 at about 6 p.m. that was initiated because the 2015 Jeep Cherokee he was driving had tinted windows and pending registration.

The police officer making the stop reported that the vehicle’s VIN number also appeared to have been tampered with and after further investigation learned that the Jeep had been stolen out of Kent, Washington. Police also reported finding three sets of license plates in the undercarriage of the Jeep near the spare tire as well as an empty Springfield Armory magazine.

The man told police he had borrowed the vehicle from a friend to go shopping at North Riverside Park Mall and didn’t know the vehicle was stolen.

Burglary/attempted burglary

A resident of the 4400 block of Madison Avenue went to police on the morning of June 11 to report that a neighbor had witnessed someone trying to break into his garage around 2 a.m. that morning.

The witness told police that he saw the unknown man attempt to force open a window on the south side of his neighbor’s garage and then unsuccessfully attempt to force open the garage’s service door. The man then got into the passenger side of a green Ford, which drove off. A license plate number for the vehicle given to police came back as registered to a blue Lexus.

Brookfield police responded to the area of Monroe and Maple avenues at about 12:50 a.m. on June 13 after someone called to report a burglary that had just occurred. A witness told police he was parking his vehicle in the alley when he noticed someone next to a large gray work van. When the witness got out of his vehicle, the man dropped several items and ran northbound on Maple and then east between two buildings.

No entry had been made into the van and the items dropped on the ground were proceeds from another burglary, police said. That vehicle turned out to be an unlocked car parked in the 9200 block of Monroe Avenue.

Later that morning, a resident of the 3400 block of Maple Avenue contacted police to report that during the overnight hours someone had removed several tools from the back of his truck. He found them lying on the ground behind the truck, and no tools appeared to be missing.

Woman charged with battery in brawl

North Riverside police charged a 40-year woman with battery after she allegedly attacked a 35-year-old neighbor with whom she had a history of disputes at an apartment building in the 2200 block of 17th Avenue on June 6 at about 4:05 p.m.

The victim told police that the alleged offender and another woman were standing at the top of the rear stairs as she went up to her apartment and attacked her, punching her multiple times in the face and head.

The alleged offender reportedly told police that she had overheard the victim making racist comments to her children and confronted her about it. She said the victim first pointed her finger at her and touched her on the forehead, initiating the fight.

Police did not charge the other woman allegedly involved in the attack.

Tires slashed in apartment building lot

Someone punctured the tires of two vehicles parked in the lot behind an apartment building in the 8500 block of Cermak Road, North Riverside, during the overnight hours of June 10-11, according to police.

Neither victim, whose cars were legally parked, could give police any motive for why their cars had been targeted. In each case, said police two tires had small puncture holes in them.  

DUI

Brookfield police charged a 35-year-old Aurora man with drunken driving after an officer stopped his gray 2006 Ford Ranger for allegedly traveling at 50 mph and increasing in speed while westbound in the 9000 block of Ogden Avenue on June 11 at 1:45 a.m.

The man reportedly appeared intoxicated, failed all field sobriety tests and said he was positive that he was in Berwyn when police pulled him over. 

Bicyclist hit by car in downtown Riverside

A male bicyclist, whose age was not provided by police, was transported to Loyola University Medical Center after a car struck him as he was riding northbound on Riverside Road at East Quincy Street at about 4:05 a.m. on June 9.

Police arrived to find the bicyclist, who was wearing a reflective yellow vest, conscious and alert but bleeding from the face. He reportedly told the officer he was riding his bike to work northbound on Riverside Road when he saw a southbound vehicle cross the railroad tracks and try to turn left onto East Quincy Street.

The driver of the car reportedly told police he turned left trying to beat an oncoming car and did not see the bicyclist.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, June 6-13 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