North Riverside resident Doushon Whitaker, 19, was charged with two counts of burglary, criminal trespassing and possession of stolen property after he was reportedly caught by police inside a vehicle in the garage of a home in the 3200 block of Vernon Avenue, Brookfield, just after midnight on May 2.
Police responded to the home after the resident called to report someone banging on their front door and someone entering their garage. When they arrived, police reported finding a BMX-style bike on the sidewalk in front of the house and Whitaker getting out of a rear door of a vehicle parked inside the unlocked garage.
According to police, Whitaker told them he was looking for a friend of his named “Tyler.” They also reported Whitaker had taken a phone-charging cord and loose change from the vehicle. From another vehicle parked in the garage, Whitaker reportedly took two packs of cigarettes.
Police also reported that just prior to the 911 call from the resident on Vernon Avenue, someone residing in the 3200 block of Prairie Avenue called police after a man knocked on the door, asking for someone named Tyler.
Subsequently, police received calls from another resident in the 3200 block of Vernon Avenue and someone from the 3100 block of Vernon Avenue reporting their vehicles had been broken into.
A phone-charging cord had been taken from a vehicle parked in the driveway of a home in the 3100 block of Vernon, while a bag containing a pair of gym shoes was taken from a vehicle parked in a garage in the 3200 block of Vernon.
Police reported recovering the bag containing the shoes at the time of Whitaker’s arrest.
Car stolen from gas station
North Riverside police responded to Community Gas and Food, 8545 Cermak Road in North Riverside, on April 30 at about 3 p.m. after a 71-year-old Cicero man reported that someone had stolen his light blue Ford Taurus, which had been parked at a gas pump.
The victim stated he left the keys in the ignition of the car as he went inside the gas station’s food mart to make a purchase. When he returned to the pump, the car was gone.
Possession with intent to deliver
Roberto C. Favela, 22, of Chicago, faces felony drug charges after police reported seizing 124 grams of cannabis and $1,405 from his vehicle after a traffic stop on April 30 at 8:20 a.m. on 26th Street at Lewe Court in North Riverside.
A police officer reported clocking Favela’s Infiniti G35 at 40 mph in a 25 mph zone and pulled the vehicle over. The officer reported smelling the odor of burnt cannabis as he talked to Favela, who directed the officer to a glass jar containing cannabis on the rear passenger seat.
The officer arrested Favela and police recovered more cannabis and paraphernalia from the vehicle during a search prior to towing the car. In addition to being charged with one count of felony possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, Favela was also cited for speeding and having no proof of vehicle insurance.
Garage burglary
A resident of the 3400 block of Sunnyside Avenue called police on the morning of May 3 to report that sometime after 2 a.m. someone forced open the side service door of his garage and removed several power and hand tools.
Vehicles in the garage apparently were undisturbed, and other items of value were left untouched inside the garage.
Cops: DUI arrestee made racial slurs
A 26-year-old Tinley Park woman charged with driving under the influence of alcohol by Riverside police on the morning of May 5 reportedly made several unsolicited, racially offensive statements to a police officer she believed to be Chinese.
According to the police report, her vehicle was illegally parked, facing the wrong direction, on East Burlington Street at Cowley Road at about 1:10 a.m. Police said tie marks in the parkway indicated the vehicle had left the roadway prior to stopping.
Police stated the woman failed sobriety tests and she was arrested. During processing, the woman asked the officer if he was Chinese and said, “My condolences for your little squinty eyes.”
The officer, who is not Chinese, reportedly ignored her comments.
Stop sign complaint leads to arrest
In the days after a woman emailed the village at help@brookfieldil.gov on May 3 to report people continually blowing through a stop sign at Windemere and Elm avenues, Brookfield police reported issuing 10 citations to motorists for disobeying the sign.
Police also issued a citation to one of the motorists for possessing a small amount of cannabis.
“Sometimes it’s much more convenient for citizens to send an email,” said Deputy Chief Ed Petrak. “This is an easy way for residents to reach out to the village and police department.”
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Riverside, North Riverside and Brookfield police departments, April 30 to May 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
