North Riverside police charged a 27-year-old Cicero man with driving under the influence of alcohol, disobeying a stop light and driving without lights after being pulled over by an officer on patrol on Aug. 28 at about 3:30 a.m.

According to the police report, the officer was stationed at Cermak Road and Desplaines Avenue when he observed a vehicle approaching from the west at what appeared to be a high rate of speed.

While unable to get a radar reading, the officer followed the vehicle, which did not have taillights on, and estimated that the car was traveling 85 mph based on how long it took for it to go from Desplaines Avenue to Harlem Avenue. The car covered the one mile stretch in 42 seconds, the officer reported. When it stopped for the red light, it did so “well past” the white stop marker on the pavement, the officer added.

The driver reportedly failed field sobriety tests and was taken into custody for DUI.

Auto theft

A North Riverside resident, whose address was not provided, went to police on the morning of Sept. 3 to report that sometime during the overnight hours her 2019 Hyundai Elantra was stolen from the parking lot her building.

At about 11 p.m. the prior evening the victim told police she noticed a white Audi SUV with tinted windows parked in the lot. The vehicle left after a couple of minutes. It’s unclear if the Audi was connected to the theft. The victim said both sets of her car keys were accounted for and that no one had permission to take the vehicle.

Catalytic converter thefts

  • Brookfield police responded to the 3300 block of Oak Avenue on Sept. 1 after a resident called to report that sometime after 3 a.m. on Aug. 30, someone removed the catalytic converter from his 2021 Nissan cargo van, which was parked on the street.
  • A resident of the Park Avenue in North Riverside called police on the morning of Sept. 3 to report that during the overnight hours someone removed the catalytic converter from his 2000 Honda.

Security video showed an SUV pull up to the car, which was parked on the street, at 2:34 a.m. A then man gets out, steals the device and leaves the area two minutes later.

That same afternoon, another resident of the 2200 block of Park Avenue notified police that someone had removed the catalytic converter from his 2005 Honda CRV, which he parked on the street on Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m.

The case of the missing paper towels

Riverside police responded to the downtown Metra station, 90 Bloomingbank Road, on Aug. 31 at about 1:15 p.m. after a village custodian called to report that the paper towels had been stolen from the station bathroom — again.

The custodian reportedly told police that about two times a month someone enters the bathroom, opens the paper towel holder and takes the roll of paper towels.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 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