North Riverside police charged a 36-year-old Cicero man with two counts of battery and two counts of disorderly conduct after he allegedly grabbed the buttocks of a woman inside Wendy’s, 7200 25th St., on Aug. 8 and slapping the buttocks of another woman outside Sally Beauty Supply, 7357 25th St., on April 11.

Police arrested the man at his home in Cicero after the victim and her mother identified him in a photo lineup conducted after the Aug. 8 incident.

The two women first encountered the man at the Social Security office at 7222 Cermak Road on Aug. 8, at which time he allegedly blew kisses at the victim. Later, the women were in line at Wendy’s when the man reported approached one of them, hugged her and grabbed her buttocks before leaving the restaurant and riding away on his bicycle.

Police said the description of the man involved in the Aug. 8 incident was the same as an incident April 11 outside Sally Beauty Supply, about a block away. Police had obtained security video from that incident, which shows a man on a bicycle riding past a woman and slapping her buttocks.

The offender reportedly admitted to those actions in an interview with police after his arrest. Police also noted the man had been arrested in Cicero on Aug. 3, but did not detail what that incident was about.

Vehicle break-ins

  • North Riverside police responded to the 2300 block of 17th Avenue at about 5:10 a.m. on Aug. 12 after a resident called to report that someone had entered her vehicle overnight.

The victim said she noticed the driver’s side door ajar when she went outside at 4 a.m. to take her husband to work. The vehicle had been rummaged through, according to police, but nothing appeared to be missing. The vehicle likely was left unlocked, the victim said.

  • A resident of the 2300 block of 17th Avenue in North Riverside called police on the morning of Aug. 12 to report that someone had broken into her 2020 Kia overnight and had attempted to steal it.

According to the police report, the driver’s side window of the vehicle had been broken out and the steering column and ignition switch had been tampered with. The victim also reported that her purse, which contained her driver’s license, state ID, passport and credit and debit cards, was missing.

A security camera reportedly captured video of someone wearing a hooded sweatshirt breaking into the car at around 2:30 a.m. Police also reported recovering a screwdriver entangled in a sweatshirt from the passenger seat of the vehicle. Those items did not belong to the victim.

DUI crash

Brookfield police charged a 61-year-old LaGrange Park man with driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs after he allegedly drove his blue Chevy Equinox off the roadway and into a house in the 9300 block of Lincoln Avenue on Aug. 11 at 1:10 a.m.

When police arrived at the scene, they reported that the vehicle had snapped a stop sign and then drove through a fence into the gangway between two homes, striking the wall of one, and causing both exterior and interior damage. Other damaged items included a flagpole, a downspout and patio furniture.

Police reported recovering an open bottle of vodka from the back seat of the vehicle. The driver, who was not injured, also reportedly indicated he had taken a prescription opioid within the prior six hours.

Auto theft

A resident of the 8900 block of Fairview Avenue, Brookfield, called police on the morning of Aug. 10 to report that his black 2013 Dodge Charger, which had been parked on the street, was stolen overnight.

Security video showed a gray sedan pull up at 5:35 a.m. One person exits the vehicle and breaks the rear driver’s side window, which remains in one piece and is placed onto the parkway grass.

The sedan then leaves but returns at 5:40 a.m., at which time three or four people get out. Some enter the Charger and drive off with it, while the gray sedan follows behind.

Catalytic converter theft

A resident of the 3500 block of Park Avenue, Brookfield, called police on the morning of Aug. 14 to report that someone had cut the catalytic converter from her Ford Escape overnight.

A witness told police that at about 3:30 a.m. he woke up to a loud noise outside and observed a sedan driving the wrong way down the street and possibly one or two people standing outside the victim’s car.

Suspicious package

Brookfield police responded to the area just east of Prairie Avenue along 31st Street on Aug. 8 at around 4:45 p.m. when a Cook County Sheriff’s Police officer requested assistance after finding what he reported to be a suspicious package at that location.

According to Brookfield police, the officer had found a backpack containing two brick-shaped objects containing a white, rocky substance. The Cook County officer asked the Brookfield officer if the village had any incidents in that area recently, to which the Brookfield officer said there had been none.

The Brookfield officer stood by until a Cook County Sheriff’s narcotics unit arrived to take possession of the backpack for testing.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, Aug. 7-13, 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