Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- As June ended and July began, there were charges of resisting and more. Police still found themselves busy in Park Forest. Was it the weather? The average temperature in Park Forest in June 2023 was 80.8 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago. That was about normal for this town. The warmest days were the 25th and 26th, which saw a high of 92.
Regardless, there were seven arrests from June 27 to July 3. These reports show the first six. These included charges of resisting, battery, and criminal damage to property. The seventh, a DUI, will run separately.
Park Forest Police Blotter Reports Through July 3, 2023
First of Charges of Resisting
Police arrested Antoine L. Argue, 41, 316 Boston St., Chicago Heights, on June 27 and charged him with resisting a peace officer. Police also gave Mr. Argue a municipal citation charging possession of cannabis.
An officer patrolling in a squad vehicle at 12:56 AM when he saw a red Ford vehicle traveling northbound on Forest Boulevard allegedly drift into the southbound lane before the driver corrected and returned to the northbound lane.
When the Ford passed the officer, the officer saw that the driver allegedly had a mobile device with an illuminated screen held up to her face. Police curbed the vehicle.
Mr. Argue was a passenger in the car. When an officer asked if he had anything illegal on his person, Mr. Argue said that he did and removed from his pants pocket a black plastic Ziploc bag with a green leafy substance inside, suspected cannabis, according to police.
Passenger Allegedly Keeps Reaching Inside the Vehicle
When the officer asked Mr. Argue to step out of the vehicle so he could search him, Mr. Argue allegedly made “several movements and that he reached towards the back seat of the vehicle and in his pants pocket,” according to the report. Once outside the car, Mr. Argue allegedly began reaching inside again. When an officer tried to grab his hands to stop him from reaching, Mr. Argue reportedly pulled away from the officers by tensing up his arms and hands, according to police.
Battery
Police arrested Elise A. Ziemann, 57, 445 Wildwood Dr., Park Forest, on June 27 and charged her with battery when police responded to a home on Wildwood Drive to investigate a disturbance complaint. Ms. Ziemann allegedly struck another woman multiple times with her hands, according to police.
Criminal Damage to Property
Police arrested Maharay D. Lucious, 21, 8524 S. Bennett Ave. #3, Chicago, on June 27 and charged him with criminal damage to property when police responded to a home on West Rocket Circle to investigate a disturbance report at 6:06 PM.
Mr. Lucious allegedly told police that six individuals arrived at his home in Chicago. According to the report, he said they began to beat him and damage the inside of his home.
Report: Chicago PD Does Not Respond
He said that the Chicago Police Department never responded to his emergency call, so he took an Uber to West Rocket Circle, where one of the people lived. He allegedly told police he was unable to speak with the person living there because he was agitated, according to police.
This reportedly led him to break the rear windows of the home, according to police.
Due to his alleged admissions, a responding officer placed Mr. Lucious in handcuffs. The person at that house subsequently signed a criminal complaint charging criminal damage to property, according to police.
Driving While License Was Suspended, Warrant
Police arrested Markus R. Fisher, 25, 1128 Michigan City Rd., Calumet City, and charged him with driving while his license was suspended and suspended registration. They also processed Mr. Fisher on an outstanding warrant from the Will County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
An officer conducted a traffic stop at 6:26 PM on a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee in the 200 block of Indiana Street. The officer saw that the vehicle’s registration was suspended after he conducted a LEADS check. After contacting the driver, Markus R. Fisher, the officer discovered that Mr. Fisher’s license was suspended, and he also had an active arrest warrant out of Will County.
Traffic Citations, Second of Charges of Resisting
Police arrested Michael L. Williams Jr., 30, 210 Juniper Rd., Park Forest, on June 28 and charged him with driving in the wrong traffic lane, disobeying a stop sign, expired registration, and charges of resisting and/or obstructing a peace officer (two counts).
At around 11:25 PM, an officer driving southbound Park Street near Westwood Drive saw a red Dodge Charger allegedly make a wide sweeping turn into the oncoming northbound traffic lane. According to the report, the vehicle continued south on Park Street and reportedly failed to stop completely at a posted stop sign.
Dodge Allegedly Fails to Stop
The officer conducted a LEADS inquiry on the car and saw that it had expired registration in April 2023. According to the report, the officer activated the emergency lighting on his patrol vehicle as the Dodge allegedly failed to stop and continued westbound on Juniper Street.
The Dodge continued, allegedly turning into a parking area on the south side of the roadway, making a three-point turn, and traveling eastbound through the parking lot, according to police. The vehicle then turned around westbound onto Juniper Street.
The car allegedly began to slow down near Court J-2, so the officer positioned his car behind the Dodge. At that point, the Dodge allegedly began to go in reverse toward the officer’s patrol vehicle, according to police. The officer sounded his emergency siren and backed up his patrol vehicle to prevent the Dodge from striking his squad.
The Dodge then came to a stop along the curb.
Police: Driver Didn’t Stop Because He Wanted “To Get Out of Traffic”
The officer asked the driver, Michael L. Williams Jr., why he didn’t stop. Mr. Williams allegedly said he was now home and trying to escape traffic.
The officer told him he needed and ordered Mr. Williams to keep his hands on the steering will. Mr. Williams complied.
The officer approached the car. Another officer arrived to assist.
Police Concerned Over Off-Center VIN Sticker
Mr. Williams told the officer he was unaware of the expired registration. The officer inspected the vehicle’s VIN off-center, according to police. The officer suspected that the Dodge had been “re-vinned,” according to the report.
Driver Allegedly Refuses To Open Car Door
The officer asked Mr. Williams to open the vehicle’s driver’s door so he could inspect and compare the VIN on the door jam. Mr. Williams allegedly refused, telling the officer he was not going to open the door, according to police.
According to the report, the officer believed the vehicle possibly had an altered or fraudulent VIN. The officer told Mr. Williams that if he did not comply with this “lawful order to exit the vehicle,” he would be subject to arrest.
Driver Allegedly Refuses To Exit the Car
Mr. Williams allegedly refused to comply again and told the officer he would not get out of the car, according to police. This exchange continued until the officer opened the driver’s door and again told Mr. Williams to leave the Dodge. Mr. Williams allegedly refused again, according to police.
With three additional commands to get out of the car, Mr. Williams allegedly refused each time. Police told him he was under arrest, according to police.
The officer reached into the car and unbuckled Mr. Williams’s seatbelt. The officer grabbed Mr. Williams by the right wrist and tried to remove him from the vehicle, according to police. Mr. Williams then tensed his arm and pulled back the police. The officer decided to remove Mr. Williams from the car via the driver’s side while the other officer pushed Mr. Williams from the passenger side, according to police.
Police: Driver Continues to Resist
Mr. Williams allegedly continued to resist by pulling away from the officer, according to police. The officer deployed his Taser again. Mr. Williams subsequently got out of the Dodge without the officer discharging the Taser, according to police.
Police then told Mr. Williams to put his hands behind his back. Mr. Williams allegedly began to resist again, pulling both arms forward and away from the officer behind him, according to police. While this struggle continued, an officer again deployed his Taser and attempted to “drive stun” Mr. Williams in the back, according to police. The officer pushed the side button, the drive stun button, on the Taser, but the Taser had no power, according to the report.
The officer saw that the battery pack on the Taser was not fully seated, according to police.
Officers were then able to “forcefully” put Mister Williams into handcuffs, according to police.
One of the officers noticed an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Mr. Williams’s breath, according to the report. Mr. Williams asked the officers why they were arresting him. The arresting officer told him that he was under arrest on suspicion of resisting/obstructing a peace officer, according to police.
Warrant, Disorderly Conduct
Police arrested Lamar D. Lewis, 40, 4739 Kennedy Ave. #2, East Chicago, IN, on June 30, processed him on an extraditable arrest warrant out of LaSalle County, Illinois, and charged him with one count of disorderly conduct.
Police Respond To Investigate Alleged “Threats”
Police responded to an address on Juniper Street to investigate a report of threats at 10:25 PM. According to the report, a woman alleged that a man gestured at her and threatened to kill her.
The officer who arrived on the scene found a man who matched the complainant’s description to dispatchers.
Another officer arrived on the scene and spoke with this man, later identified as Lamar D. Lewis, according to police. Mr. Lewis allegedly told police that he was at that address on Juniper Street to visit a friend but did not know his friend’s name or apartment number, according to the report. He then answered no further questions about the incident, according to police. Police described him in the report as rambling about unrelated topics and said in the report that they found it difficult to understand what he was saying.
One of the officers detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Mr. Lewis’s breath, according to the report.
Police Discover Warrant
Mr. Lewis did provide police with an Indiana identification card. An officer checked Mr. Lewis’s name and found the extradited bull arrest warrant, according to police. At this point, police detained Mr. Lewis in handcuffs and put him in the rear of a patrol vehicle pending confirmation of the arrest warrant, according to police.
The Complainant’s Report
Police then spoke with the complainant, who said she had never seen Mr. Lewis before when he allegedly approached her, according to police. She said that Mr. Lewis allegedly walked toward her and made a gun gesture with his hand, allegedly pointing directly at her, according to police. Mr. Lewis reportedly went on to say that he would follow her to her room and kill her, according to police. She identified Mr. Lewis as the alleged offender and told officers she wanted to pursue criminal charges against him.
The complainant did sign a complaint, 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.
Police captured all the incidents in this report on body-worn and dash-mounted cameras by officers at the respective scenes, according to police. 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.
