Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Editor’s Note: These police reports bring us through January 11, 2019. Charges for those cited during this period include criminal damage to property, DUI, possession of cannabis, domestic battery, and a stolen vehicle out of Chicago Heights was recovered in Eastgate with the suspect at the wheel.
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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.
DUI
Giovanna A. Bell-Allen, 29, 10816 S. Hale Ave., Chicago, was arrested on January 8 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood concentration of more than 0.08%, driving while under the influence of alcohol, improper lane usage, and failure to signal when required. Ms. Bell-Allen was assigned a court date of February 6, 2019 at the Markham Courthouse.
An officer traveling eastbound at 1:24 AM on Sauk Trail at Shabbona Drive saw a 2004 Hyundai Sonata swerving within the left lane, traveling eastbound on Sauk Trail. The officer followed the car and saw the vehicle cross halfway over to the right lane on Sauk Trail at Indianwood Boulevard while under-correcting for a left curve, according to police. The Hyundai continued swerving while in the left lane with its tires touching both the solid and dashed yellow lines on the left and the dashed white line on the right, multiple times, according to police. The officer saw the Hyundai make a left turn onto Western Avenue from Sauk Trail while allegedly failing to signal, according to police.
The officer activated the emergency lights and siren of his squad and curbed the Hyundai on the right on Western Avenue at Indianwood Boulevard.
The officer asked the driver, identified as Giovanna A. Bell-Allen, why she didn’t use the turn signal. She allegedly told the officer that she was too busy talking to the front seat passenger who she hadn’t seen in a while, according to the report. Ms. Bell-Allen had slurred speech, glossy watery eyes, and her breath smelled of an alcoholic beverage, according to police.
At first, Ms. Bell-Allen told the officer that she had a few sips of alcohol, according to the report. She then told him she had two shots. She then told the officer that all she had was a glass of red wine because she was pregnant, according to police. The officer reminded her that she told him earlier that she had two shots, all of this according to the report.
The officer administered Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, after which the officer placed Ms. Bell-Allen under arrest “for showing clear signs of driving while above the legal blood alcohol limit,” according to the report. The vehicle she was driving was seized and towed per local ordinance. At the Park Forest Police Department, an officer administered the breathalyzer test for Ms. Bell-Allen which showed her to have a breath alcohol content of 0.266%, according to police. That is over three times the legal limit of 0.08%.
Possession of Cannabis: No Arrest
Michael A. Collins, 25, 528 214th St., Dyer, IN, was issued municipal citations charging no seatbelt and possession of cannabis when officers traveling east on Lakewood Boulevard on January 8 at 12:31 PM observed a black Infinity facing north on West Rocket Circle. One of the officers had a clear view of the driver and noticed that he was not wearing a seatbelt, according to police.
The vehicle pulled out behind the officers. The officers pulled to the side of the road and allowed the vehicle to pass and then curbed the vehicle in the parking lot of Walgreens, 15 S. Orchard Drive. One of the officers made contact with the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, later identified as Michael Collins. Immediately upon making contact, the officer detected a strong odor of cannabis emanating from the vehicle.
The officer asked Mr. Collins if he was smoking cannabis and Mr. Collins allegedly admitted to smoking cannabis in the vehicle the day prior and show the officer an ashtray with several partially burnt cigars. The officer requested that Mr. Collins exited the vehicle and he complied. During a search of the vehicle, the officer found one cigar filled with suspect cannabis and a plastic sandwich bag containing suspect cannabis.
Mr. Collins’ vehicle was towed from the scene. Mr. Collins was provided the municipal citations with a local court date of February 7 and he was then released from the scene.
Stolen Vehicle From Chicago Heights Found in Eastgate
Two officers were traveling east on Allegheny Street toward Antioch Place on January 8 at approximately 2:13 PM when they saw a blue 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo facing east and going in reverse in the roadway in the 200
The officers conducted a U-turn and approached the vehicle from the rear. The officers parked approximately 10 feet behind the vehicle with emergency lights activated and exited with their department-issued Glock 22 handguns drawn and pointed toward the vehicle’s occupants.
Police ordered the driver and the passenger to raise their hands.
The driver was ordered to exit the vehicle. He complied and walked back toward the officers and was subsequently handcuffed.
According to police, the driver spontaneously said that his father reported the vehicle stolen because he wanted the driver to give him the registration plates.
SouthCom Dispatch contacted the Chicago Heights Police Department which confirmed that the vehicle was stolen. CHPD related that they would send officers to retrieve the vehicle and the driver.
The driver was subsequently turned over to the Chicago Heights Police Department.
Criminal Damage to Property, Domestic Battery
Terry Atwater Jr., 28, 703 W 142nd St., Riverdale, was arrested January 9 and issued a municipal citation charging possession of cannabis and misdemeanor complaints charging criminal damage to property, a second criminal damage to property complaint, criminal trespass to residence, criminal trespass to a vehicle, and domestic battery. Mr. Atwater was held pending transportation to Markham Courthouse for a bond hearing.
Police
Another officer arrived on scene to assist. After a short foot pursuit, Mr. Atwater was located and temporarily detained for investigative purposes.
During a protective patdown of Mr. Atwater, the officer located two small plastic bags containing a green leafy plant-like substance, suspect cannabis.
The complainant told police that on that date, January 9, at approximately 11 AM, she arrived at the Park Forest Police Department and requested assistance with having her ex-boyfriend, Mr. Atwater, removed from her vehicle. Officers met with both parties and Mr. Atwater willingly removed himself from the vehicle. Officers told Mr. Atwater to not return to the complainant’s residence for the remainder of the day. Mr. Atwater agreed, according to police, and stated that he would wait for another ride to take him to Dalton.
The complainant said that she parked in her designated parking space outside her residence and was inside her home only a short time before she heard a loud banging sound on the front door. She looked out a window and saw Mr. Atwater near her front door. Mr. Atwater allegedly began yelling and demanding that she come downstairs and retrieved his iPad from her vehicle. She told police that she refused to do so because she was unclear of Mr. Atwater’s intentions, according to police.
Mr. Atwater allegedly continued to beat on the front door until a wooden panel in the door cracked, according to police. The complainant told Mr. Atwater that if he broke into her residence she was going to Taser him. According to the report, Mr. Atwater allegedly punched the rest of the door panel in causing a portion of the wooden door to break off and that portion hit the complainant in the throat, according to police.
The complainant said that once Mr. Atwater allegedly broke the door panel, he allegedly reached his hand inside the hole and began to unlock the doorknob. The complainant shocked Mr. Atwater’s hand with a personal Taser and warned him to not enter the residence. Mr. Atwater allegedly continued his attempts to gain entry to the residence.
The complainant then ran upstairs. Mr. Atwater allegedly gained entry to the residence and the complainant came halfway down the stairs and began spraying pepper spray in the air towards his face. The complainant stated that Mr. Atwater began coughing and ran out of the residence. It was a few seconds later that police arrived, according to the report.
Domestic Battery, Criminal Damage to Property
Geter Randle, 42, 1955 Revere St., Chicago Heights, was arrested on January 9 and charged with domestic battery, battery, criminal damage to property, reckless driving, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, leaving the scene of an accident, and improper lane usage. He was held awaiting transportation to a bond hearing at the Cook County Courthouse, according to the report.
At 2 PM on January 9, police were notified of a report of a reckless driver in the area of Lakewood Boulevard and North Orchard Drive. SouthCom Dispatch told police that a red vehicle was being chased by a silver SUV. The red vehicle pulled into the South parking lot of the Park Forest Police Department as the alleged offending vehicle continued eastbound on Lakewood Boulevard. The responding officer walked out to the South parking ramp and observed a red Nissan Maxima. The passenger side front window was shattered and the front windshield was also shattered, according to police. There were also several dents and dings around the passenger front door window and molding.
The driver was extremely upset. She was crying and speaking very quickly, according to police.
The driver told police that she was in a dating relationship with Geter Randle for six years but they ended the relationship six months ago. Things had been cordial but now that she had a new boyfriend, Mr. Randle became jealous, according to the report.
The driver told police that in the past Mr. Randle had placed a tracking device on her vehicle and showed it to her when he took it off per her request two weeks ago. She had a photo of the tracking device on her cell phone which she showed to an officer.
On this date, she and her new boyfriend were in University Park when she received a phone call from Mr. Randle telling her that he knew she was in University Park because he was tracking her again, according to police. That is when Mr. Randle met with them at a gas station in University Park. An argument ensued and a University Park police officer intervened, sending all parties their separate ways.
About an hour later, the woman and her boyfriend were driving north on Western Avenue approaching Main Street in her Nissan when they observed Mr. Randle, who was traveling south, make a U-turn and began following them.
At 26th Street and Western Avenue, the two were stopped at the light in the left traffic lane. Mr. Randle pulled alongside them in his silver Lexus SUV and allegedly reached out his driver’s window with a baseball bat, allegedly swinging the bat and striking the passenger window, shattering it and sending broken glass all over her boyfriend, according to police. Mr. Randle then chased after them and continued to pull alongside her vehicle and allegedly struck it with the baseball bat.
At one point, Mr. Randle allegedly pulled alongside the driver’s side and sideswiped the driver’s side of her vehicle with the passenger side of his vehicle. This caused her to strike the curb and nearly drive off the roadway. Mr. Randle allegedly c
