Park Forest, IL—(ENEWSPF)—Police arrested the same man twice in one week after he allegedly touched women’s buttocks. The women had no desire for the alleged offender to touch their buttocks or anywhere else.
In a separate incident, an officer investigating an incident where he saw a man urinate on a trashcan allegedly discovered “magic mushrooms” in a car.
Park Forest Police Reports Through March 2, 2024
Possession of a Controlled Substance
Police arrested Keionte D. Martin, 18, Park Forest, on February 26 and charged him with possession of a controlled substance. An officer patrolling at 2:30 AM saw a man get out of a 2008 Honda and urinate on a trashcan in front of a home in the 200 block of Arcadia Street.
The officer approached the car and smelled cannabis coming from the vehicle. He asked the man who allegedly urinated on the trashcan why he did that. The man told the officer it was okay because his friend lived there.
There were four men in the car.
Police: Driver Had Cannabis and Psilocybin or “Magic Mushrooms”
Other officers arrived on the scene, and police searched each person in the car with negative results, except for Keionte Martin. Mr. Martin allegedly had two bags of suspect cannabis and a small glass jar of suspect cannabis concentrate on his person, according to police.
Police searched the vehicle and found six empty mylar bags of suspect cannabis and five mylar bags of suspect cannabis. They also found one mylar bag of suspect Psilocybin or “magic mushrooms” and a bottle containing 71 pills of suspect Xanax, according to the report.
Battery And Trespassing
Police arrested Christopher M. Williams, 30, Park Forest, on February 27 and charged him with two counts of trespassing and one count of battery.
Police responded to 1 Main Stree at 5:31 PM to investigate a disturbance report. Upon arrival, an unknown subject flagged down the responding officer and reported seeing a man “sexually assaulted” a woman at 10 Main Street.
Alleged First Incident of Touching Women’s Buttocks
Police later spoke with the complainant. They learned that the alleged offender was Christopher Williams.
Due to prior incidents with Mr. Williams, the responding officer suspected that Mr. Williams trespassed on CVS Pharmacy.
The complainant positively identified Mr. Williams as the person who allegedly touched her inappropriately, grabbing her buttocks, according to police.
Domestic Battery
Police arrested Richard Suddoth III, 19, Bloomington, IN, on February 28 and charged him with domestic battery after police responded to an address on Western Avenue regarding a report of a domestic disturbance.
The complainant alleged to SouthCom Dispatch that a man named Richard battered her, according to the report.
Police find a woman bleeding from her face.
When police arrived, they saw a woman standing in front of the residence, bleeding from her face. She had a laceration on her face near her right eyebrow. An officer saw blood possibly coming from her right nostril, according to the report.
The woman told police that Mr. Suddoth allegedly began slapping her face with an open hand, so she slapped him back, according to the report. According to the report, both subjects then began to push each other back and forth and throw closed-fist punches at each other.
Mr. Suddoth refused to provide his account of what took place, according to police. Officers determined that they would take him into custody on suspicion of domestic battery.
Violation of an Order of Protection
Police arrested James D. Jenkins, 36, of Park Forest, on February 28 and charged him with violating an order of protection.
Police responded at 11:07 PM to an address on Walnut Street to investigate a report of an unknown subject. They found Mr. Jenkins at the address and discovered that he had been served an order of protection on June 27, 2023, in open court, according to the report. The order was active and had a listed expiration date of June 25, 2025. The address on Walnut Street was the protected address, police said.
Two Tickets Charging One Headlight And Possession of Cannabis in a Vehicle
Police issued Jeffrey A. Rhyns, 23, Sauk Village, a municipal citation on February 29, charging one headlight and possession of cannabis in a vehicle.
Police were on patrol and parked facing east and the entrance of Ken’s Liquor on Western Avenue when they saw a purple Honda Civic traveling southbound on Western Avenue with only one headlight illuminated, according to police.
It was 11:17 PM.
Police curbed the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Jeffrey Rhyns, who provided his driver’s license. The officer asked Mr. Rhyns if there was cannabis in the car, and he responded that he had just smoked a cannabis-rolled cigar, according to police.
No Arrest. Driver Released from the Scene.
Police found
- a prepackaged plastic container containing a green leafy substance, suspected cannabis, in the driver door storage area;
- a small plastic bag containing a green leafy substance, suspected to be cannabis, in the center console area,
- and a black and pink backpack containing a Mason jar with a green leafy substance, suspected to be cannabis, in the center rear seat, according to the report.
Police issued the tickets to Mr. Rhyns and released him from the scene. There was no arrest.
Violation of an Order of Protection
Police arrested Derek L. Ratliff, 59, of Park Forest, on March 1 and charged him with violating an order of protection.
Police responded to an address on Western Avenue at 7:44 AM to investigate a domestic complaint. Dispatch advised police that Mr. Ratliff allegedly became aggressive toward the complainant during a verbal dispute.
Police found Mr. Ratliff wearing a tan jumpsuit, walking through Court F-6. An officer made contact with the complainant, who “appeared to be emotional with tears on her face,” according to the report.
According to the report, police discovered that the complainant had a non-expiring order of protection against Mr. Ratliff, which SouthCom Dispatch confirmed via radio.
Battery: Alleged Second Incident of Touching Women’s Buttocks
Police arrested Christopher M. Williams, 30, Park Forest, on March 2 and charged him with battery.
According to police, an officer was parked in the 300 block of Main Street conducting an extra watch due to recent complaints of threats. A woman driving an SUV approached the officer’s car and stopped parallel to his vehicle. She asked the officer for assistance regarding an incident that had just occurred.
She said she and her son were playing basketball at 30 N. Orchard Drive, the Park Forest Aqua Center, when two men she didn’t know approached them. According to police, one of the men was later identified as Christopher Williams.
Alleged Offender Asks for a Hug
Mr. Williams approached the woman and allegedly asked for a hug. The woman verbally declined. Mr. Williams then reportedly touched the woman on her buttocks in the presence of her son. According to the report, this made her feel uncomfortable, fearing for her safety.
The woman and her son then left and saw the officer parked on Main Street. She told the officer the men were still at the Aqua Center playing basketball. The officer went to the Aqua Center and arrested Mr. Williams.
The same officer was involved in another call on February 27 at 10 Main Street when Mr. Williams allegedly touched another woman inappropriately on her buttocks, 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.
