The Cook County State’s Attorney approved charging a 23-year-old Chicago man with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle after he was apprehended by local police following a pursuit that started in Brookfield and ended at Desplaines Avenue and Harrison Street in Forest Park on the afternoon of Oct. 6.

A Lockport man called Brookfield police at about 1:50 p.m. to report that his silver 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis had been stolen from his place of employment. At 2:25 p.m. police received a 911 call of a reckless driver behind the wheel of the silver Mercury sedan, which was northbound on Desplaines Avenue.

That vehicle, it turned out, was the one that had been reported stolen earlier in Brookfield. A North Riverside police officer located the vehicle traveling northbound on Desplaines Avenue passing Roosevelt Road and caught up to it just south of I-290, joined by other units from Riverside and North Riverside, who surrounded the vehicle.

Police making the traffic stop reported that the driver of the stolen vehicle, identified as Alexis M. Lopez, attempted to put the vehicle in reverse in order to flee, but a police officer shattered the driver’s side window to forcibly put the car into park. Police later reported that the driver may have actually put the vehicle into neutral and revved the engine, but it didn’t move.

According to the police report, Lopez admitted walking past the Mercury and seeing the keys inside.

Attempted burglary

Riverside police have reported that someone attempted to break into an apartment at a building in the 2900 block of Harlem Avenue during the early morning hours of Oct. 2. 

When the tenant returned from an out-of-town trip on Oct. 4, a neighbor reportedly told him that he called police at about 1:10 a.m. on Oct. 4 to report the attempted intrusion.

The tenant of the targeted unit told police that when he returned home, he noticed a window screen and window partially open. It did not appear that the offender gained entry, police said.

Police were able to obtain some physical evidence from the scene and sent it to the Illinois State Police Crime Lab for analysis.

Catalytic converters stolen

A resident of Groveland Avenue in Riverside called police on Oct. 4 to report that during the overnight hours someone had cut the catalytic converter from the undercarriage of her 2003 Honda Odyssey minivan, which was parked in the driveway of the residence.

A resident of Hainsworth Avenue in North Riverside went to police on Oct. 4 to report that the catalytic converter was stolen from his 2006 Acura, which was parked on the street outside the house.

Doorbell video reportedly showed a black SUV drive up next to the Acura at 1:40 a.m. A man then gets out of the SUV and removes the catalytic converter before leaving northbound toward Cermak Road.

Riverside police responded to a residence in the 400 block of Kent Road on the morning of Oct. 6 after a resident called to report that someone had sawn off the catalytic converter from his Honda CR-V, which was parked overnight in the driveway.

Bikes stolen

A resident of the 2500 block of Desplaines Avenue called police on the morning of Oct. 6 to report that two bicycles that had been left unlocked on the south side of their apartment building were stolen overnight.

The bikes were described as a gray BMX-style Hyper brand bike with star-shaped rims and a black bike with rust on the frame.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Oct. 4-10 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