Looking to keep a low profile? Throwing stereo equipment into the street is probably not the best way to keep things on the down low.

Brookfield police arrested Marcos M. Palma, 18, on an active warrant after being called to his residence on Sept. 13 just before 6 p.m. According to the report, police responded to the 4400 block of Eberly Road to investigate a subject tossing stereo equipment into the roadway and creating a traffic hazard.

When police arrived, the stereo equipment was no longer in the street. They went to the suspect’s residence where they found Palma, who admitted throwing a speaker system from his patio onto the roadway. Palma reportedly told the police he was upset, although he declined to say why.

While there, police learned there was an active $5,000 warrant out for Palma’s arrest in connection with a previous charge for unlawful use of a weapon. After posting bond, Palma was released.

Battery

Brookfield police charged LaGrange resident Keith R. Grant, 25, with battery after he allegedly punched a 28-year-old LaGrange Park man in the face in the bathroom of Brixie’s Saloon, 9526 Ogden Ave. just after midnight on Sept. 13.

According to the report, the men knew each other, having worked together at a restaurant. In addition, Grant’s girlfriend used to be the victim’s girlfriend.

According to the victim’s statement to police, he walked into the bar and saw his ex-girlfriend in the company of Grant. The two men made eye contact, and the victim said that he immediately walked into the bathroom. Grant reportedly followed him into the bathroom, punched him in the face and left the bar in a yellow Dodge Neon.

Later, Grant reportedly drove to the Brookfield Police Department and turned himself into police, who charged him with battery.

Theft

Berwyn resident Graciela Ramos, 46, faces a charge of retail theft after she reportedly walked out of J.C. Penney at the North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, North Riverside, without paying for $601 in clothing items.

Security personnel at the mall reportedly saw Ramos enter the children’s department, petites, women’s accessories and one other department where she removed various items from the racks and put them into a J.C. Penney’s shopping bag. In all, police recovered 32 items of clothing.

Sometime between 8 a.m. on Sept. 14 and 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 15, someone entered the A-Lyft Roofing property in the 9300 block of 47th St., Brookfield, and stole a Tapco Windy City aluminum roofing brake valued at $1,000. According to the report, the property is unfenced and the brake was not locked down. It was located high off the ground on a stand. The owner of the property reported to police that numerous items have been stolen from his property in the past.

North Riverside resident Turhon Jefferson, 17, was charged with theft on Sept. 14 after he reportedly removed a bicycle from a property in the 2900 block of Lincoln Avenue, North Riverside.

According to North Riverside police, a neighbor saw Jefferson in the backyard of the home and asked him what he was doing. Jefferson reportedly told the man that he was going to school and asked the man for 50 cents to get air in the tires. Jefferson then took the bike into the alley. When the witness went to call police, Jefferson reportedly dropped the bike in the alley and ran into the forest preserves where police found him.

DUI

Riverside police charged Downers Grove resident Bryan E. Niedermeyer, 32, with aggravated driving under the influence after an officer reported seeing him driving 55 mph in a 30 mph zone while westbound on 26th Street from Hainesworth Avenue at 1:01 a.m. on Sept. 17.

The arresting officer reported that Niedermeyer smelled of alcohol and did not possess a driver’s license. When Niedermeyer refused to submit to field sobriety tests, he was arrested for DUI. He also refused to submit to a breath test.

Police reported that Niedermeyer’s license was suspended and that he had been convicted of driving on a suspended license on multiple occasions. As a result, the Cook County State’s Attorney upgraded the charge to aggravated DUI, a Class 4 felony.

These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments from Sept. 10 through Aug. Sept. 17, 2007 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. The cases have not been adjudicated.

-Compiled by Bob Uphues