Lemont resident Todd A. Severin, 34, faces two drug possession felonies after police reportedly found 79 grams of cannabis and 6.29 grams of crack cocaine inside his vehicle just after 11 p.m. on June 7 in Riverside.
According to the report, Riverside officers from the West Suburban Directed Gang Enforcement (WEDGE) unit on their way back from an undercover operation in Forest Park observed a Buick traveling northbound in the southbound lane of traffic on Harlem Avenue.
After pulling over the vehicle and calling Riverside police, the officers reported smelling burnt cannabis coming from the car and seeing burnt cannabis in the car’s ashtray. Officers also reported that they could hear their calls to Riverside police coming from inside the Buick.
Police later discovered under the front seat, a Radio Shack dual trunking scanner system with Lyons, Berwyn and Riverside police frequencies programmed into it.
A K-9 unit sent from Forest Park led police to a stash of cannabis in the area around the car’s gas cap and on the floor of the vehicle. Police reportedly also found small plastic bags of a white powder, which tested positive for cocaine, on Severin’s person, and over $500 in cash in the center console of the vehicle.
Theft
On June 8, Brookfield police received a report that as many as eight copper downspouts had been removed from the gutters and stolen from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 9035 Grant Ave. According to the report, the theft could have taken place up to a month ago.
The thief(s) apparently simply jerked the downspouts from the gutters, damaging eight tiles that held the downspout brackets. The value of the loss was estimated at $1,000.
Drug possession
Riverside police charged Chicago resident Robert G. Maynard, 40, with possession of a controlled substance after a traffic stop at 5:08 p.m. on June 4. According to the report, Maynard was driving a Oldsmobile with temporary plates that registered to a Buick.
Police learned during the stop that Maynard’s license was revoked and arrested him. During a search, police reportedly found a clear plastic bag containing cocaine and a bag with 29 unidentified prescription pills.
After responding to the call of a reckless driver in a white Chevy Blazer on June 6 at 10:10 p.m., police charged two Hickory Hills men with possession of a controlled substance.
Police spotted the vehicle near 26th Street and Harlem Avenue, Riverside, and reported that the driver appeared “spaced out.” The driver, identified as Richard A. Cechman, 18, and the passenger, Efren Gonzalez, 29, reportedly gave police consent to search the vehicle.
Police reported finding on Cechman’s person two foil packets containing a white substance the field tested positive for heroin. Gonzalez reportedly possessed one foil packet of heroin. A K-9 unit from Berwyn called in for the search reportedly discovered more heroin powder inside the vehicle’s glove box and on the rear floor.
DUI
Riverside police charged Cicero resident Gabriel T. Cruz, 35, with aggravated DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia after responding to a call at the 7-Eleven/Citgo at 2600 Harlem Ave. at 9:15 a.m. on June 9.
Police received a call from an employee at the station, saying a man who appeared to be intoxicated was driving a blue Dodge Caravan around the lot repeatedly. Police arrived to find the vehicle at a gas pump. The driver, identified later as Cruz, reportedly stumbled out of the van.
Police said Cruz couldn’t complete the field sobriety tests and refused a breath test. They did report finding a crack pipe in the man’s possession and a half-empty 40-ounce can of malt liquor under the front seat. The man allegedly ingested cocaine and heroin prior to driving, prompting police to charge him with DUI-drugs.
Brookfield police charged Kenneth Engelbreit, 49, of Brookfield, with DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia and other offenses after receiving a call on June 10 at 12:30 p.m. that someone was slumped over the wheel of a car at the intersection of McCormick and Washington Avenue.
Police arrived to find Engelbreit slumped over the wheel of his still-running red Cadillac on southbound McCormick Avenue just north of Washington Avenue. An officer opened the driver’s side door and woke up Engelbreit. The officer told Engelbreit to turn off the car, but Engelbreit allegedly accelerated across Washington Avenue, struck the curb on the east side of the street and then struck a vehicle parked in the 3600 block of McCormick Avenue.
Police described Engelbreit as “dazed” and found inside the vehicle a total of 71 hypodermic syringes and numerous items of drug paraphernalia.
Engelbreit was charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance. He was also cited for several traffic infractions.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside and Brookfield police departments from June 4 through June 10, 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