North Riverside police charged a 24-year-old Broadview man with misdemeanor criminal trespass to a motor vehicle and held him on a warrant for a federal weapons charge after alleging he possessed a stolen vehicle parked at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, on Feb. 27 at 5 p.m.

An officer on patrol at the mall reported observing a white Lincoln MKZ with no front license plate and a temporary Wisconsin license plate on the rear of the vehicle. The temporary license plate didn’t register to any vehicle, but a check of the VIN number showed the vehicle was reported stolen in Downers Grove in August 2021.

Police also reported observing a black semiautomatic handgun in plain view on the floor in front of the driver’s seat. The gun was later described as a Canik 9 mm pistol loaded with 13 rounds plus another in the chamber. They also found an Illinois ID in the center console.

Police were able to locate the owner of that ID as he exited the mall near where the vehicle, which police towed, had been parked. When an officer attempted to stop the man, he reportedly ran through the parking lot to the north and then west before falling down.

Another North Riverside officer was able to physically take the man to the ground, and a struggle reportedly ensued, ending when an officer used a Taser to subdue him. He reportedly had the key fob to the stolen Lincoln on his person.

The man was wanted on four warrants, police said, including a federal weapons offense for which he was wanted by the U.S. Marshal, who took him into custody on Feb. 28.

Felony charges for possession of a stolen motor vehicle and unlawful use of a weapon were pending further investigation, police said.

Weapons, drug charges

Jehu Palma, 28, of Berwyn, faces felony charges for unlawful use of weapon and possession of cocaine after a North Riverside police officer stopped him while he was driving in the 8500 block of Cermak Road on March 5 at about 5:55 p.m. for having heavily tinted windows.

According to the police report, Palma was in possession of a white crystal-like substance, identified as cocaine, in a plastic bag in his pants pocket. Under the driver’s seat police reported recovering a Citadel 1911 .45-caliber pistol loaded with one round in the chamber. Palma reportedly does not possess a firearm ID card or concealed-carry license.

Car strikes building

Police say an 80-year-old Chicago man accidentally hit the accelerator of his 2020 Cadillac just before it crashed into the building at 345 E. Burlington St. in Riverside on March 4 at about 8 a.m.

The driver reportedly told police he was waiting for his dental appointment and thought the vehicle was in park when he accidentally hit the gas, causing the car to hit the building. No one was hurt.

Vehicles damaged by BB gun

Brookfield police responded to a fenced private parking lot in the 9100 block of Ogden Avenue on March 1 at about noon after the property owner called to report that some cars parked there had been damaged by someone firing a BB-type gun at them.

According to the police report, there were a total of three vehicles that had been damaged, including a 2004 Chevy truck whose rear window and rear driver’s side window had BB holes in them, a 1986 Chevy pickup truck whose rear windshield was shattered and a 2014 Kia where police found six chips in the front windshield.

The only way the vehicles could have been damaged by someone firing a BB gun at them was from the alley or rear of the property, police said.

Gas siphoned

A resident of the 3200 block of Maple Avenue, Brookfield, called police on March 1 to report that someone appeared to have siphoned several gallons of gas from the tank of a vehicle parked on the rear driveway during the overnight hours.

The victim said the car’s tank had been filled the day before. However, in the morning the tank was almost empty.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Feb. 27-March 6, 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