Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- This was not a typical week for Park Forest police. In the latter part of February, they handled cases charging felony obstructing justice, unlawful use of a weapon (UUW) by a person with a felony, and a driver who allegedly had a BAC more than three times the legal limit.
This was a busy week. While police and fire respond to thousands of calls for service during any given calendar year, very few involve arrests.
Park Forest Police Blotter Reports Through February 27, 2023
Felony Obstructing Justice
Darvin J. Tharp-Thomas, 27, 1316 W. 110th St., Chicago, was arrested on February 24 and charged with felony obstructing justice and processed on a warrant out of Will County on a charge of theft.
An officer was on patrol when he saw a parked vehicle running in the southernmost corner of the parking lot of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in the first block of Sycamore Drive. It was 10:43 PM. According to the report, the officer knew the church was closed at that hour. The officer saw a man and a woman in the car. The man was in the driver’s seat.
According to the report, the woman identified herself and provided an Illinois State Identification Card upon request. The man told the officer that he left his identification at home, according to police. The officer asked if the man had any identifying documents, such as credit cards with his name on them or a picture of his identification, according to police. The driver responded that he did not, according to police.
Driver Allegedly Provides a False Name
The man then provided a name and stated that he did not have a middle initial, according to police. The man also said he lived on “Arbor Drive,” telling the officer that he lived “right here,” according to police.
Point of fact, there is no “Arbor Drive” in Park Forest.
The officer told the man that the address he provided was not valid, according to police. Then, with the woman’s help, the man corrected his address to a residence in the one hundred block of North Arbor Trail, according to police.
The officer did a name check and discovered there was no record on file of the name the man provided, according to police.
Eventually, police took the man into custody. At the Park Forest Police Department, an officer discovered a wallet that the man was carrying with an Illinois State Identification Card containing a picture of the man named Darvin J. Tharp-Thomas, according to police. Upon conducting a name check, the officer discovered that Mr. Tharp-Thomas had a warrant for his arrest out of Will County, according to police. Mr. Tharp-Thomas allegedly told police that he lied about his name because he knew of the arrest warrant, according to police.
Criminal Damage to Property
Credale Miles, 28, 175 Indianwood Blvd., Park Forest, was arrested on February 25 and charged with criminal damage to property and processed on an active warrant out of the Stevenson County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of a failure to appear on an unrelated incident, according to police. Mr. Miles allegedly punctured the tires of several vehicles parked in the driveway, according to police.
DUI, No Insurance, Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon
Jansen X. Wiley, 28, 820 Oakside Lane, University Park, was arrested on February 26 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, resisting, having no insurance, failing to signal, and unlawful use of a weapon by a person with a felony.
An officer was at a red traffic signal facing eastbound on Monee Road at the intersection with Western Avenue. It was 2:15 AM. The officer saw a silver van traveling south on Monee Road that allegedly had no headlights, according to police. The traffic light turned green, and the officer followed the 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan vehicle. It drove south on Western Avenue.
The driver subsequently turned on the vehicle’s headlights, according to police.
Allegedly Changes to Turn Lane Without Signaling
As the Dodge approached the Westbridge Apartments, it maneuvered into the turn lane allegedly without activating a turn signal, according to police. The officer activated his vehicle emergency lights and initiated a traffic stop. The officer approached the vehicle’s passenger side and spoke with the driver. He was the sole occupant, later identified as Jansen X Wiley. According to the report, the officer saw a 22-ounce can of Icehouse beer in the vehicle’s center console.
The officer asked for Mr. Wiley’s driver’s license and proof of insurance. The officer told him why the officer stopped him, putting police. While speaking with Mr. Wiley, the officer detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage inside the vehicle, according to police. According to the report, Mr. Wiley’s eyes appeared bloodshot and glassy to the officer. His speech had a distinct, muffled slur, according to the report.
Driver Allegedly Does Not Roll Window Down
Mr. Wiley asked if driving without headlights was “an emergency,” according to the report. The officer told him it was the law, according to the police. Mr. Wiley then allegedly rolled the passenger window up, according to police. The officer asked him to roll the window down. Mr. Wiley allegedly refused and asked the officer to come to the driver’s side, according to police.
Mr. Wiley then reportedly began to reach around the vehicle and into his pockets, according to police. The officer told Mr. Wiley not to reach into his pockets and roll the passenger window down, according to police. Eventually, Mr. Wiley rolled the passenger window down a few inches, according to police. Mr. Wiley extended his arm toward the officer while holding his driver’s license. However, he refused to roll the window down further or hand the officer his driver’s license, according to police. Citing safety concerns, the officer writes that he did not want to reach through the barely open window.
The Officer Takes the License
Mr. Wiley extended his driver’s license far enough so the officer was able to take the driver’s license, according to police. The officer determined that Mr. Wiley’s driving privileges were valid, according to police. Now, Mr. Wiley was unable to produce an insurance card, according to police.
Another officer arrived on the scene.
The officer asked Mr. Wiley why he rolled the window up while speaking with him. Mr. Wiley responded, “Because it’s citations, sir,” according to the police. The officer asked if Mr. Wiley had anything to drink. He replied, “Probably just a beer,” according to the report. Mr. Wiley then told the officer he was going to search for his insurance information. Mr. Wiley then allegedly ignored the officer’s multiple requests to exit the vehicle, according to police.
The officer states in the report that he had to ask approximately ten times for Mr. Wiley to get out of the vehicle, according to police. After informing Mr. Wiley that he would arrest him on a charge of obstructing if he refused to get out of the car, Mr. Wiley exited the vehicle, according to police.
Police Discover a Weapon
When Mr. Wiley got out of the car, the officer patted the exterior of his jacket. He felt a hard “L-shaped object” inside the left interior jacket pocket, according to police. The officer recognized by touch that the thing was a handgun, according to police. An officer told Mr. Wiley that he would place him in handcuffs. As he attempted to place the handcuffs on Mr. Wiley’s left wrist, Mr. Wiley began to tense his arms and pull away as if trying to “defeat the arrest,” according to police.
After some time, when both officers allegedly had to push Mr. Wiley against the vehicle to control him, they could handcuff his wrists, according to police. According to the report, the first officer on the scene removed the firearm from Wiley’s left interior jacket pocket. The gun was loaded with one live round in the chamber, according to police.
Officers secured the weapon, according to police.
No FOID or Concealed Carry License (CCL)
Dispatch informed the officer that Mr. Wiley did not have a valid FOID or CCL, according to police. Police transported Mr. Wiley to the Park Forest Police Department. While en route, when Mr. Wiley realized that his vehicle would be towed, he swung his head numerous times against the plastic divider in the squad vehicle and allegedly kicked the rear door, according to police.
At the station, the Wiley initially refused to get out of the back vehicle and had to be persuaded to do so, according to police. Police offered him the opportunity to perform Standard Field Sobriety Tests. Mr. Wiley refused, according to police. Mr. Wiley also refused to sign the Warning To Motorist. At 2:55 AM, the arresting officer asked if Mr. Wiley would submit to a breathalyzer. Mr. Wiley refused that as well.
Past Felony Conviction
Police learned that Mr. Wiley had a past felony conviction. After reviewing his criminal history, police discovered that on January 31, 2017, Mr. Wiley was found guilty of aggravated battery of a pregnant/handicapped person under Winnebago County Circuit Court Case Number 16CF00003301, according to the report.
DUI – BAC Over Three Times the Legal Limit
Keshawnna K. Scales, 29, 303 Sioux St., Park Forest, was arrested on February 26 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration greater than .08, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and improper lane usage.
Traffic Accident
Police responded to Sauk Trail and Indianwood Boulevard at 3:19 AM to investigate a traffic accident. When police arrived, an officer saw a black Chevy Equinox in the driveway of a home. The Equinox struck two vehicles parked at that address, pushing them into another car and the driveway of a residence, according to police.
Officers also saw the following damage in the eastbound lanes of Sauk Trail at Indianwood Boulevard: a wooden electrical pole belonging to ComEd, a traffic light, a light pole, and a stop sign. All polls and signs were in the street after being struck by a vehicle, according to police.
Police spoke with a woman in the driver’s seat of the Equinox. They later identified her as DeShawn a Scales. An officer detected the odor of alcohol on her breath and saw that she had glassy eyes and slurred speech, according to police. The officer asked her what happened.
Police: The driver said she “hit a bump.”
According to the report, she kept responding that she ” hit a bump while driving,” When asked where she was coming from, she “muttered something inaudibly,” according to the report.
Police spoke with the owner of two vehicles in the home’s driveway. The owner said she heard the crash, came outside her home, and found the black Chevy Equinox in her driveway, according to police. The owner reported seeing Ms. Scales in the driver’s seat after the crash, according to police.
Paramedics Try to Help the Driver
Park Forest paramedics attempted to bring his Scales to the ambulance because multiple airbags in her vehicle deployed in the impact. Ms. Scales allegedly became uncooperative and refused to sit on the cot to be evaluated, according to police. Eventually, with the responding officer assisting her in sitting on the cot, the ambulance transported her to Franciscan Health in Olympia Fields, according to police.
The responding officer remained with Ms. Scales out of suspicion that she drove intoxicated, according to police. At the hospital, the officer spoke to the attending physician and provided for demanding the release of blood results under a criminal investigation, according to police.
Ms. Scales’ blood alcohol concentration came in at .272, according to police. The BAC is more than three times the legal limit in Illinois.
According to an officer, Ms. Scales’ booking photograph had an “error via ICLEAR,” and the officer could not open the picture to send it to us for this report.
Ticket: Possession of Cannabis, No Arrest
Zarrion Baldwin, 1921305 Butterfield Parkway, Matteson, was issued a municipal citation on February 26 charging possession of cannabis when an officer saw a vehicle where the driver was allegedly not wearing a seatbelt, according to police.
The car was driving westbound on North Street from Holly Street, according to police. While speaking with Mr. Baldwin, an officer who pulled him over saw smoke coming out of the vehicle, according to police. The smoke had a strong odor of cannabis, according to police.
The officer asked Mr. Baldwin if he had any cannabis in the car. Mr. Baldwin allegedly responded that he had none. Police searched the vehicle and found a bag containing suspect cannabis hidden in the car’s center console, according to the report.
This is not an arrest. This is simply a ticket, and police did not tow or impound Baldwin’s vehicle.
Domestic Battery
Bruce W. Collins, 42, 21115 Central Park, Park Forest, was arrested on February 27 and charged with one count of demeanor domestic battery after police responded to the 22100 block of Central Park Avenue to investigate a report of domestic battery.
Mr. Collins allegedly caused a woman to fall down the stairs of the home onto the living room floor, according to police.
The alleged victim told police she was attempting to leave for the night when Collins allegedly grabbed her and ripped her pants, according to police. Collins then allegedly began to push her, according to police. The woman said she had to grab the staircase railing to avoid falling down the stairs.
As she was holding the railing, Collins allegedly continued pushing her, and she eventually fell down the stairs, according to police. Police observed several operations on his legs and elbows, according to police.
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.
