Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- These police reports include arrests through December 4, 2019. Charges for those arrested include driving under the influence of alcohol, criminal damage to property, and possession of firearm ammunition without a valid FOID.
These are also the most-recent reports we have received from Park Forest Police. We expect to receive the rest of December 2019’s reports this week.
Providing more details than readers will find in any other police beat reports, we invite readers to subscribe to get the whole story, every day.
eNews Park Forest has always published 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 who have been charged, including their name, age, and address. This information is necessary to ensure the proper identity of those arrested.
An arrest does not mean that a person is guilty. All those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is the policy of eNews Park Forest to not remove items in the public record from publication. If your name is listed in the police reports, 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.
Persons wishing to leave anonymous information on any criminal matters including narcotics or gang activity are encouraged to call the Park Forest Police DepartmentInvestigations Division at (708) 748-1309.
eNews Park Forest reports this information because the public in the United States has the right to know. When that information is withheld or under-reported, it leaves questions. We also want to show the work that the police force does every day that is not reported. Members of the Police in Park Forest respond to thousands of calls per year, the vast majority of which do not end up with arrests. Whether it’s conducting a routine investigation, pulling over a drunk driver, or responding to a possible theft at a store, the work of the police officer deserves acknowledgment by the public.
DUI
Delashay R. Atkins, 29, 416 Rutledge St., Park Forest, was arrested on November 30 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, BAC over .08, speeding, improper lane use, and an uninsured motor vehicle.
Two officers were conducting mobile radar patrol in the area of Western Avenue and Indianwood Boulevard. The officers were traveling in the left northbound lane on Western Avenue towards Main Street when they saw a white 2016 Audi S Line at 3:12 AM allegedly traveling at 54 mph in a 35 mph zone, according to police.
The Audi was in the left southbound lane on Western Avenue near Main Street, according to police.
As the Audi passed the patrol vehicle, the officers observed that the driver applied the brakes of the vehicle, according to the report. The officer driving the patrol vehicle conducted a U-turn at Main Street and attempted to close the distance between the patrol vehicle and the Audi by increasing speed to approximately 69 mph, according to the report.
The officer saw the front and rear passenger tires of the Audi allegedly begin to travel over the white dashed lane lines on southbound Western Avenue before subsequently overcorrecting to the left (east), crossing into the left turn lane onto Chestnut Street, according to police.
It appeared to police that the Audi might turn left onto Chestnut Street. However, it continued straight, passing the intersection with the front and rear driver tires traveling slightly over the solid yellow traffic line of the on raised median, according to police.
The Audi maneuvered back into the left southbound lane of traffic on Western Avenue, according to police.
After continuing to follow the Audi for approximately 1.02 miles, the reporting officer concluded that the driver of the Audi might be operating a motor vehicle while impaired, according to police. The officer initiated a traffic stop just south of the intersection at Western Avenue and Steger Road.
The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, Delashay R. Atkins, immediately told officers, “I’m sorry, I gotta pee,” and chuckled, according to police.
Ms. Atkins exhibited “leisurely behavior or delayed reactions” as she attempted to locate her driver’s license and insurance information, according to police. Ms. Atkins displayed slurred and delayed speech and had bloodshot, glassy eyes, according to police. She hesitated and her responses and at times seemed confused or uncertain in her responses, according to police.
Other officers responded to assist.
Police asked Ms. Atkins to exit the vehicle to perform field sobriety testing. Ms. Atkins complied, according to police. Ms. Atkins exited the vehicle and stood “squeezing her thighs together,” notifying an officer that she still needed to use the restroom, according to police. That officer began closing the door of the Audi when Ms. Atkins turned around and grabbed towards the door. She appeared off balance and stumbled, placing her left foot over her right foot, according to police.
After conducting these tests, police told Ms. Atkins at approximately 3:24 AM that she was being taken into custody because she did not appear to be okay to drive, according to police.
Ms. Atkins was taken to the Park Forest Police Department and directed to a cell to use the restroom at the Park Forest Police Department, according to police. At 4:04 AM, an officer administered a breath test which resulted in a Blood Alcohol Content of .172, according to police.
Criminal Damage to Property
Chelsea S. Windmon-Edwards, 22, 332 Merrill Ave., Calumet City, was arrested on December 1 and charged with one misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property after police were dispatched at 6:33 PM to Walgreens, 15 S. Orchard Drive, to investigate a possible road rage incident.
SouthCom Dispatch told police that the complainant alleged that she was being followed in her vehicle by someone she knew and that she would continue to circle the area until she saw an officer at the Park Forest Walgreens, according to police. SouthCom told police that the complainant was in fear for her safety because someone in the vehicle following her was allegedly throwing items at her vehicle, according to police.
Several officers “saturated the area in an attempt to locate the vehicles,” according to the report.
One of the responding officers arrived at Walgreens and observed two vehicles in the left turn lane facing southbound on Orchard Drive. Turn signals on the vehicles indicated that the cars were going to continue eastbound on Lakewood Boulevard.
The officer recognized the first vehicle to be the complainant’s vehicle based on the description provided by SouthCom, according to the police.
After completing the left turn onto Lakewood Boulevard, assisting officers stopped the vehicle behind the complainant’s car, according to police. The complainant stopped as well but later continued into the Walgreens parking lot to speak with the officer who was there, according to police.
As officers approached the second vehicle which they had curbed, that driver performed a U-turn in the middle of the roadway, allegedly attempting to leave the scene, according to police. Police stopped the vehicle.
The complainant told police that after visiting a friend in the 100 block of Indiana Street, she left the residence and saw a car that began following her when she pulled away from the residence, according to police. She turned right onto Orchard Drive and continued southbound to the traffic signal on North Street.
She called the man who she had been visiting and told him that she was being followed. Her friend told her that she was being followed by the mother of his child and he told her to call the police because “she would start ‘showin’ out'”, according to police.
The complainant said she turned left onto North Street and continued traveling eastbound in the right lane until coming to the traffic signal at Western Avenue where she stopped at the traffic signal, according to police. She told police that the driver who was following her, later identified as Chelsea S. Windmon-Edwards, allegedly rolled down the front passenger window of her vehicle and threw a bottle at the complainant’s car, according to police.
At a separate location, the complainant told police that Ms. Windmon-Edwards allegedly threw something else at her car that struck the left rear quarter panel causing a large dent, according to police.
After stopping Ms. Windmon-Edwards’ car, police took custody of a toddler who was in the vehicle, according to police. The toddler was later placed in the care of a family member of Ms. Windmon-Edwards with direct permission from Ms. Windmon-Edwards, according to police.
Possession of Firearm Ammunition Without a FOID
Brandon J. Smith, 21, 3135 Holden Circle, Matteson, was arrested on December 3 and charged with possession of firearm ammunition without a FOID. Mr. Smith was also given a municipal citation charging possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia.
An officer was traveling east on Gentry Street from New Salem Street when he observed a car parked facing west in the 300 block of Gentry Street. There was a man in the driver’s seat who appeared to be either sleeping or unconscious, according to police.
The time was 1:30 PM.
The officer drove past the vehicle and parked his squad several car lengths east of the vehicle. The officer approached the car on foot and conducted a “consensual stop,” according to the report.
The officer recognized the driver as Brandon J. Smith from prior contacts, according to the report.
Upon making contact, the officer detected a strong odor of burnt cannabis emanating from inside the vehicle, according to police.
Mr. Smith did not have a medical cannabis license, according to the report.
The officer asked what Mr. Smith was doing and Mr. Smith replied, “Chillin, smoking,” according to the report.
As the officer spoke with Mr. Smith he observed a plastic bag that contained a green leafy substance in plain view near the driver shaft, according to police. Mr. Smith handed the bag to the officer and the officer retained it for evidentiary purposes, according to police.
The officer asked if there was any additional cannabis inside the vehicle and Mr. Smith allegedly removed a small plastic bag from his right front jacket pocket and gave it to the officer, according to police. Mr. Smith also showed the officer half-burnt cigar that contained cannabis that was in an ashtray in the center cup holder, according to police.
Another officer arrived on the scene to assist.
As Mr. Smith exited the vehicle, he grabbed another plastic bag that was on the driver’s floorboard and allegedly indicated that it also contained cannabis, according to police.
Police conducted a search of the vehicle and found a digital scale with remnants of suspect cannabis recovered from the center console of the vehicle; 11 12-gauge shotgun shells; and two live rounds of 9mm ammunition with one live round of .45 caliber ammunition, according to police.
The officer requested that SouthCom Dispatch conduct a FOID check on Mr. Smith but SouthCom was unable to do so because FOID inquiries through LEADS were not functioning at the time, according to police. So the officer asked Mr. Smith if he had a FOID and Mr. Smith allegedly told the officer that he did not, according to police.
Mr. Smith’s vehicle was towed from the scene and impounded per local ordinance.
Related: Park Forest Police Blotter Reports Through July 24, 2018
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