Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- As previously reported, the last week of December 2022 and the first week of January 2023 were unusually busy for Park Forest police. We withheld the name of a juvenile charged in University Park in connection with a vehicle stolen out of Park Forest. We are also withholding the name of a woman who was charged with trespassing.
The issue of mental health might be behind other issues too. Certainly, someone charged with driving under the influence might argue mental illness in connection with a DUI charge. For our part here, we will withhold names moving forward if the officer who wrote the report cites evidence of a mental illness. Given the stigma that mental illness has in our society, we believe people deserve privacy as they seek treatment.
Driving a Stolen Vehicle
A juvenile from Park Forest was charged on January 5 by University Park police on suspicion of driving a stolen vehicle and fleeing from police after a Park Forest resident on Sycamore Street reported a motor vehicle theft. The juvenile was charged as a juvenile, according to Park Forest police. Park Forest police were unable to charge the juvenile or anyone else at this point with the actual theft of the vehicle as police have no proof that the juvenile actually stole the vehicle, according to police.
Trespassing
A woman suffering from mental illness was charged with trespassing on January 5 after the new owner of a home in the first block of Marquette Street reported to an officer at the Park Forest Police Department that the home he had bought was occupied by the woman, age 68.
The new owner filed for an order of possession of the residence on February 28, 2022, almost a year ago. The woman was removed from the home on September 27, 2022, when the Cook County Sheriff executed an eviction, according to police. At that time, EMS paramedics were called to the home and the woman was transported to the hospital and admitted involuntarily, according to police.
After she was released from the hospital, the woman reentered the residence and obtained a no stalking/no contact order against the new owner who thus was unable to approach her, further complicating matters for the new owner.
Over the course of investigating this incident, police learned that the woman had family in University Park. A person with knowledge of the woman’s circumstances told police that the woman did not relay all the necessary information about her situation to her family regarding her housing on Marquette Street. The woman’s daughter, a University Park resident, came to the Park Forest Police Department and took her mother to her home, according to police.
Domestic Battery
Lyna M. Simpkins, 52, 410 Gettysburg St., Park Forest, was arrested on January 5 and charged with domestic battery and resisting a peace officer after police were dispatched to a home on Gettysburg Street for a well-being complaint that was later changed to a domestic issue call. Ms. Simpkins allegedly struck someone in the home multiple times with an open hand; threw her cell phone at a family member, striking her in the chest area; and allegedly pushed a person in the home causing her to strike her head against a wall, according to police.
Battery
Kenra R. Grady, 28, 11744 S. Vincennes Ave., Chicago, was arrested on January 6 and charged with battery, driving while her license was suspended, and traveling the wrong way on a one-way road when police responded to a residence on Ash Street to assist with a 911 hang-up call. When the reporting officer arrived on the scene with two other officers Kendra R. Grady, was already in custody, according to police. A woman told police that she was allegedly struck by Ms. Grady several times in the head and knee, according to the report. That woman who made the allegation was bleeding from her nose and lip, according to police.
About Police Reports
Please note that we repeatedly say “according to police” in these reports and often use the word “allegedly.” We are not asserting in any way that those arrested and/or charged have committed any offenses. We report on what is in the media reports furnished by police. As those charged are innocent until proven guilty, the burden is on prosecutors and police to prove all alleged crimes.
eNews Park Forest has always 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 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.
All of the incidents in this report were captured on body-worn and/or dash-mounted cameras by officers at the respective scenes, according to police. All Park Forest police officers wear body-worn cameras. These devices are now typically abbreviated BWC in the reports.
Persons wishing to leave anonymous information on any criminal matters including narcotics or gang activity are encouraged to call the Park Forest Police Department Investigations Division at (708) 748-1309.
