Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Police charged a Park Forest man who they say shot at a tow truck driver in the early morning hours of April 26. The driver the man allegedly shot escaped harm.
According to police, a tow truck driver flagged down officers at 3:40 AM on the morning of April 26, 2023. He told officers someone shot at him as he attempted to repossess a vehicle. The shooting happened on the 300 block of Miami Street, police said.
Police identified the alleged offender as Lorenzo Crawford, 51, of Park Forest.
According to a statement from police, Mr. Crawford told police he saw someone in the process of repossessing a relative’s car. He believed the person was stealing the vehicle. He allegedly told police that he exited his home and fired one “warning shot,” according to police.
Tow Truck Driver Flees After First Shot
After the warning shot, the tow truck began to flee, according to police. Mr. Crawford then allegedly fired three more times toward the rear of the truck, according to police. One of these rounds penetrated the rear window of the truck and struck the driver’s headrest. The driver escaped injury.
An officer told eNewsPF that perhaps the only reason the round did not find the driver was that Mr. Crawford fired it from a lower angle.
Police obtained a search warrant for Crawford’s residence. They recovered numerous firearms. Police provided the photo showing these firearms. Police believe Mr. Crawford used one of these firearms, a handgun, during this incident, according to police.
Since Mr. Crawford has a prior felony conviction he cannot legally own any firearms, according to police. His previous felony convictions include armed robbery, vehicular invasion, burglary, aggravated battery to a police officer, and drug-related offenses, police said in a statement.
Police apprised the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office of this incident. The office approved charges of attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm against Mr. Crawford.
Park Forest Police anticipate that a grand jury will file additional charges.
Mr. Crawford is currently at the Cook County Jail with no bond.
“The Park Forest Police Department would like to remind the public that people are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” police said in their statement on this incident.
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.
