A 35-year-old woman flagged down a Riverside police officer on Dec. 4 just after 5 a.m. to report that someone had just attempted to force her into a vehicle in the 2700 block of Harlem Avenue.

The woman was not injured, but she told police that a man driving an older model blue pickup truck with some sort of scrap material in the rear bed had followed her as she walked north on the east side of Harlem Avenue from Ogden Avenue to the 2700 block.

The driver of the truck was described as an older white male with a very thin build, wearing a black jacket and black hoodie. When she reached Longcommon Road, the woman reportedly crossed to the west sidewalk.

The truck pulled into the Citgo gas station lot, the woman told police, and the driver exited and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her toward the alley. When the woman began yelling for help, the man returned to the truck and left the area, according to the police report. The man reportedly took the woman’s purse and cellphone.

According to police, the woman was not fully cooperative, declining to give police her phone number so her phone could be pinged. Security video from the gas station reportedly shows a blue Dodge pickup entering the gas station lot from the north, driving around the pumps and leaving southbound. 

A few seconds later a camera in the alley captured video of a set of headlights heading southbound through the alley, with the shadow of a person walking or running away from the lights in the alley. The woman is seen entering and leaving the gas station minimart several times after that.

Initially, the woman told police she had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend in a vehicle, which was not described, near Harlem and Ogden, where she reportedly got out and began walking north.

‘Late for work’

A man charged with aggravated speeding during the early morning hours of Nov. 29 told the Riverside police officer who arrested him that he was driving so fast because he was “running late for work.”

The police officer was northbound on Harlem Avenue from the 4200 block when he clocked a red Ford Fusion traveling southbound at 90 mph in a 30 mph zone near Joliet Road just after 4 a.m.

Making a U-turn, the officer caught up with the Ford near the I-55 interchange and pulled the car over. According to police, the driver did not possess a valid license. He was cited for that offense as well as speeding 60 mph over the limit.

DUI

North Riverside police charged a 55-year-old Berwyn woman with driving under the influence of alcohol, several traffic offenses after an officer on patrol clocked her silver Kia traveling at 55 mph in a 35 mph zone while eastbound on Cermak Road from First Avenue on Dec. 5 about 12:05 a.m.

The Kia turned south on Desplaines Avenue, said police and accelerated to 49 mph, before braking past the stop bar and across the crosswalk at a red light at 26th Street. The driver told police she’d been drinking eggnog prior to getting behind the wheel. She reportedly failed field sobriety tests and then allegedly started walking toward her vehicle after an officer told her she would be arrested for DUI.

The officer handcuffed the driver “after a brief struggle.” She refused to submit to a breath test.

In addition to DUI, the driver was cited for speeding, disobeying a red light and improper lane usage.

Catalytic converter thefts

A resident of the 9500 block of Henrietta Avenue, Brookfield, contacted police on the morning of Dec. 1 to report that during the overnight hours someone had sawn the catalytic converter from the undercarriage of his 2017 Mitsubishi hatchback.

North Riverside police responded to the 2300 block of Hainsworth Avenue after a resident called to report that the catalytic converter had been removed from his 2013 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport during the overnight hours of Dec. 1-2.

Baby Jesus, lights stolen

Brookfield police responded to the business Sweet Creations, 9101 Ogden Ave., after the owner called to report that sometime between 7 p.m. on Dec. 2 and 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 3 someone removed the Baby Jesus figure from a nativity scene in front of the business.

Police checked the area for video evidence with no success.

A resident of the 300 block of Desplaines Avenue, Riverside, contacted police on Nov. 30 to report that during the overnight hours someone had stolen a rope of Christmas lights that had been strung in the backyard of his residence, which is partially fenced.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Nov. 29-Dec. 5, 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