Park Forest, IL—(ENEWSPF)—A Country Club Hills teen faces a felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after police found a disassembled Glock handgun in a hidden compartment in his car. Two days later, a man from Matteson was charged with retail theft at the Dollar General on Main Street.
Reports on these unrelated incidents follow.
Park Forest Police Blotter Reports Through June 21, 2024
Teen Charged: Felony Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon
Police arrested Davon C.Gaffney, 19, of the 17700 block of Springfield Avenue, Country Club Hills, on June 19 and charged the teen with one felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, obstructed registration, tinted rear taillights, and possession of adult-use cannabis in a motor vehicle.
Around 11:36 PM, an officer approached the intersection of Sauk Trail and Central Park Avenue when he saw a white Dodge Charger turning left from Central Park Avenue onto Sauk Trail. According to police, the vehicle had no rear lights and a heavily tinted plate cover that obstructed the registration.
The officer conducted a traffic stop on the Dodge on Sauk Trail just east of Blackhawk Drive. According to police, the vehicle did not immediately stop. It took approximately 28 to 30 seconds for the Dodge to come to a complete stop on Minocqua Street just south of Sauk Trail. There were three people in the car: a driver and two passengers.
Officer Suspects Cannabis in the Car
The officer contacted the driver, who was later identified as Davon C. Gaffney. The officer advised Mr. Gaffney of the reason for the stop and asked him for his driver’s license. Mr. Gaffney had to retrieve the license from the center console. While doing so, the officer saw a designer cannabis package with a bulge, according to police.
The officer shined his flashlight on the package and saw a black plastic storage container, commonly used to store cannabis, resting near the cup holder. He asked Mr. Gaffney to get out of the vehicle, and he did.
Another officer arrived to assist.
The first officer on the scene told Mr. Gaffney that he saw the cannabis packages and asked how much cannabis there was in the vehicle. Mr. Gaffney said there was no cannabis inside the car but allegedly made admissions to previously smoking cannabis and having “bags,” according to police.
Police Locate a Large Amount of Cash
Police began to search the vehicle. In the glove compartment, they found:
- $2300 cash, all in $20 bills,
- various tools and power tools,
- a holster on the driver’s side floorboard,
- a live round on the driver’s seat in plain view,
- a live round in the center console,
- multiple designer cannabis packages with one containing a green leafy substance, suspected cannabis,
- a scale with suspected cannabis residue,
- a stack of credit/debit cards and a Social Security Card. None of the cards belong to Mr. Gaffney or the two passengers.
9 mm Glock Handgun Leads to Teen Weapon Charge
Police also found a disassembled black and tan 9 mm Glock handgun. According to police, the weapon was in a hidden compartment near the front cup holder, along with a magazine containing 14 rounds. The Glock had two different serial numbers, according to police.
All of the parts of the Glock were immediately accessible to the driver and could be put together and fired quickly, according to police. Though disassembled, the teen faces a felony charge because of this weapon.
When police located the live round on the driver’s seat, they detained all three individuals and placed them into Park Forest police squads. They transported all three to the Park Forest Police Department.
At the station, Mr. Gaffney told police he was a contractor, which is why he had the tools and power tools in the vehicle. He said he withdrew the $2300 from the bank to purchase something online but lost contact with the seller.
Mr. Gaffney did not tell police where he banks and where he withdrew the money.
He denied ownership of the handgun and said he was unaware of a hidden compartment in the vehicle. According to police, the car is registered to him, and he is the sole driver of the Dodge.
After interviewing the two passengers, police released them without charges. Before transporting Mr. Gaffney to Markham Courthouse, officers gave him a Notice of Preliminary Review and told him they were seizing the $2300 cash per Article 36 of the Criminal Code.
Retail Theft
Police arrested Daquan T. Magsby, 30, of the 3300 block of North St., Matteson, on June 21 and charged him with retail theft and trespassing.
Officers responded to the Dollar General at 10 Main St. around 9:35 AM to investigate a report of retail theft. The complainant, the store manager, alleged that a man with a black book bag stole items from the store and ran northbound through the Central Park Cooperatives. The complainant said the book bag was full of unpaid items, according to police.
Police Find Suspect
An officer located a man matching the complainant’s description near Juniper Street and Forest Boulevard. The man, identified as Daquan T. Magsby, stopped when the officer asked him to stop.
The officer asked him where he was coming from, and Mr. Magsby replied, “church,” according to police. The officer explained that Mr. Magsby matched the description of a Dollar General subject involved in a retail theft. Mr. Magsby admitted he was at Dollar General. However, he said he did not take anything. He also denied the officer permission to search his book bag.
The officer detained Mr. Magsby and waited for another officer to conduct a show-up. The other officer arrived with the complainant, who identified Mr Magsby as the person who had stolen from the business, according to the police. The complainant, the store manager for Dollar General, expressed a desire to pursue criminal complaints against Mr. Magsby on charges of retail theft and trespassing.
About Police Reports
Please note that we repeatedly say “according to police” in these reports and often use “allegedly.” We are not asserting in any way that those police arrested and charged committed any offenses. We report on what is in the reports that the police furnish to us. As those accused are innocent until proven guilty, the burden is on prosecutors and police to prove all alleged crimes.
eNews Park Forest has continuously published the addresses of those arrested and will continue to do so. 5 ILCS 140/2.15 states that the governmental body (for these reports, the Police Department), shall release information on those charged, including their name, age, and address. This information is necessary to ensure the proper identity of those arrested.
Presumption of Innocence
An arrest does not mean that a person is guilty. The law presumes all those whom police arrest are innocent until proven guilty. It is the policy of eNews Park Forest not to remove items from the public record from publication. Suppose you find your name in the police reports. Our policy is that we will only add information relevant to the final disposition of the case at hand, e.g., “Mr. Smith was subsequently acquitted,” “Mr. Smith entered a guilty plea,” or “All charges against Mr. Smith were subsequently dropped.” We will do so upon receiving and verifying proof of such disposition.
We do not strike, “unpublish,” or delete news.
According to police, officers captured all the incidents in this report on body-worn and dash-mounted cameras at the respective scenes. All Park Forest police officers wear body-worn cameras. Officials typically abbreviate these devices as BWC in the reports.
We encourage persons wishing to leave anonymous information on any criminal matters, including narcotics or gang activity, to call the Park Forest Police Department Investigations Division at (708) 748-1309.
