Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- These police reports include arrests through July 30, 2019. They include arrest and charges details that of reports that appear as independent articles due to the length of the narratives. One of these incidents is what police described as the “on-going domestic-related barricade situation in the 400 block of Tomahawk Street” on July 27 that triggered CodeRED calls throughout Park Forest.
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 Department Investigations 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. 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.
Trespassing
Raymond R. Walker Jr., 33, 356 Miami St., Park Forest, was issued a municipal citation charging trespassing on July 24 after police responded to a business in the 300 block of Sauk Trail in reference to a report of a subject who had previously been banned from the store. Police told Mr. Walker that if he returned again he would be arrested, according to the report.
Aggravated Driving While License Suspended
Shawn M. Thomas, 31, 102 Westwood Dr., Park Forest, was arrested on July 24 and charged with aggravated driving while license was suspended, defective windshield, and disobeying a stop sign when an officer traveling west on Westwood Drive toward North Orchard Drive saw a gold 2011 Chevrolet Impala in front of him stop with its front tires past the “clearly marked stop line, partially entering the crosswalk,” at the intersection of Westwood Drive and North Orchard Boulevard, according to police. The officer also observed a large crack in the windshield of the vehicle.
When the officer asked Mr. Thomas for his driver’s license, Mr. Thomas allegedly said that he did not have a driver’s license or any form of identification, according to police.
Mr. Thomas’ vehicle was towed from the scene and impounded per local ordinance, according to police.
Driving While License Suspended: Handgun Recovered
Armani M. Griffin, 18, 4502 Lindenwood Dr., Matteson, was arrested on July 24 and charged with driving while license was suspended and speeding and issued a mandatory court date of September 3, 2019, at the Markham Courthouse. An officer conducting traffic enforcement observed a gray Hyundai traveling north on Blackhawk Drive near Miami Street at a high rate of speed, according to police.
According to the officer’s radar unit, the vehicle was traveling at 42 miles per hour in a 30 miles per hour zone, according to the report.
There were two juvenile passengers in the vehicle besides Mr. Griffin, who was the driver, according to police.
An officer conducted a LEADS inquiry and learned that Mr. Griffin’s driving privileges were currently suspended, according to police.
Inside the vehicle, police found a black semi-automatic Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 handgun which contained 15 live rounds of nine millimeters ammunition in the magazine and one live round of nine millimeters ammunition in the chamber, according to police. Police also found two clear plastic bags containing a green leafy substance, suspect cannabis, and two partially burnt cigars containing suspect cannabis.
Mr. Griffin said he believed the handgun belonged to one of the juveniles and said that he believed the juvenile had the handgun in his jacket prior to the vehicle being stopped. Mr. Griffin said he had seen the juvenile with the handgun on one or two prior occasions but did not know he had it in the vehicle, according to police.
Mr. Griffin’s vehicle was towed from the scene and impounded per local ordinance.
In interviews at the Park Forest Police Department, neither of the juveniles admitted to knowledge of the handgun.
The juveniles were both issued municipal citations charging possession of cannabis.
Mr. Griffin agreed to submit to a buccal swab for DNA analysis of the handgun. Guardians for the juveniles also consented for buccal swabs for the juveniles. The DNA samples were later entered into evidence along with the handgun and will be sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab for DNA analysis, according to the report.
Fleeing and Eluding a Police Officer, Reckless Driving
Jaleel Triplett, 23, 8 Olympic Village #2D, Chicago Heights, on July 25 and charged with driving while license was suspended, no insurance, one count of fleeing and eluding a police officer, one count of reckless driving and issued citations charging disobeying a stop sign, disobeying a stop sign, and disobeying a traffic control signal. An officer was in the area of Orchard Drive and Illinois Street at 10:35 AM when he was alerted via radio that the Olympia Fields Police Department officers observed a white Honda CRV turning southbound onto Orchard Drive from Lincoln Highway. According to police, this vehicle was suspected of being used in a previously reported armed robbery in Olympia Fields.
Details of this incident are available here: Man Tased in Olympia Fields After Allegedly Fleeing Police from Park Forest.
Criminal Trespass to Real Property
Raymond R. Walker Jr., 33, 356 Miami St., Park Forest, was arrested on July 25 and charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass to real property and two counts of resisting a peace officer after police were dispatched to a business in the 22300 block of Central Park Avenue in reference to a report of a suspicious subject.
SouthCom Dispatch related that a caller said a man was in the parking lot, approaching the business and passing car windows while allegedly dancing “in a lewd manner,” according to the report. When police arrived they located a man matching the description provided and one of the officers “immediately recognized him to be Raymond Walker Jr.” according to the report.
Mr. Walker has had numerous prior contacts with Park Forest Police Department officers and had been banned from all the surrounding businesses in the area, according to police. When police made contact with Mr. Walker, he “began making unintelligible statements,” according to the report. He had an odor of alcohol emanating from his breath, according to police.
Aggravated Assault to a Peace Officer, Domestic Battery
Donnie D. Woods, 46, 451 Tomahawk St., Park Forest, was arrested on July 27 and charged with aggravated assault to a peace officer, domestic battery, and resisting a peace officer after police responded at 4:30 AM to a home in the 400 block of Tomahawk Street in reference to a report of a domestic disturbance. The complainant said that there was a man in a blue house allegedly yelling in the street to “go ahead and call the police,” according to the report.
Details of this incident are available here: Man Charged in Saturday’s “Domestic-Related Barricade” CodeRED Incident.
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