Park Forest, IL—(ENEWSPF)—Nearing the end of May, police faced two incidents that led to weapons charges for two men. In another case, a University Park man landed a felony aggravated DUI charge. Finally, the use of a cell phone by a Peotone man resulted in a charge of felony aggravated driving while his license was revoked, according to police.
The weapons charges were against two Park Forest men.
Park Forest Police Blotter Reports Through May 28, 2024
Felony Aggravated DUI
Police arrested Gregory M. Goins, 65, of the 700 block of Red Oak Lane, University Park, on May 25 and charged him with felony aggravated DUI (Class 1), felony aggravated driving while license was revoked (Class 2), speeding, and no insurance.
Police report seeing a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed northbound on Western Avenue approaching Dogwood Street at 1:57 AM. According to police, an officer determined that the car traveled 52 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone. The officer, who had been heading southbound, executed a U-turn and began to follow the vehicle.
When he got closer, he saw the car was a red 2001 Dodge Caravan. He activated his emergency lights and initiated a traffic stop at Western Avenue and South Street. The officer contacted Gregory M. Goins, the driver and sole occupant of the car.
Police: The driver says he has no driver’s license.
When asking him for his driver’s license, Mr. Goins responded that he did not have one and provided an Illinois identification card instead, according to police. According to the report, the officer smelled an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the inside of the vehicle. Mr. Goins’s eyes were glassy, and his speech was slurred, according to police.
The officer asked Mr. Goins how much he had to drink. He replied, “I was drinking a beer,” according to police. When the officer asked if he only had one, Mr. Goins replied, “One or two, I don’t know,” according to police.
According to police, Mr. Goins provided the officer with an expired insurance policy. Another officer arrived on the scene to assist.
Standardized Field Sobriety Tests
The officer who initiated the traffic stop administered Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. After the tests, police took Mr. Goins into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence. A check through LEADS showed that Mr. Goins had multiple prior convictions of DUIs and driving with a revoked driver’s license, according to police.
Ad officer contacted the Cook County Felony Review Unit at 3:39 AM and received approval for aggravated DUI and aggravated driving while revoked driver’s license, according to police. Mr. Goins refused to provide a breath sample, according to police.
Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon
Police arrested Larry L. Thomas Sr., 37, of the 300 block of Main Street, Park Forest, on May 25 and charged him with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated domestic battery, battery, and aggravated assault.
Police responded to a location near Victoria Circle to investigate a disturbance report at 6:41 AM. Police approached a car with a man on the passenger side, later identified as Larry L. Thomas Sr. A woman was on the driver’s side of the vehicle. According to police, as one of the officers got closer to the car, she saw Mr. Thomas run around the back of the vehicle to the driver’s side door and crouch down next to the driver’s seat.
The woman yelled at officers for help, alleging that Mr. Thomas had a gun and was pointing it at her. Police later identified the weapon as a Taras G3 9 mm handgun.
Police Detain Man and Woman
Two officers placed Mr. Thomas in handcuffs and detained him. Another officer placed the woman in handcuffs and detained her.
An officer read Mr. Thomas his Miranda rights, according to police.
Mr. Thomas told police that the woman and another woman had returned to the residence after going to the store. According to the report, Mr. Thomas said the women began making statements that were not true. They began to argue and moved to the parking lot next to Mr. Thomas’s residence. He said one of the women threatened to get some guys to come to his home, according to police.
Mr. Thomas said he never pulled his gun out of his case, nor did he ever point it at the woman.
Woman Tells Her Story
The complainant, one of the women, told police the gun she referred to was under the driver’s seat of the car. The woman told police she came back to the home. While inside, she confronted Mr. Thomas about allegedly cheating on her, according to police. She alleged that Mr. Thomas became very angry and began to strike her repeatedly all over her body, according to police.
The other woman tried to get between Mr. Thomas and the other woman. In doing so, Mr. Thomas allegedly struck her in the face with his fists, according to police.
The women eventually left the home and began to go to their vehicle. Mr. Thomas allegedly followed the two to their car with the gun in his hand, according to police. According to the report, they described it as a small, black handgun.
Mr. Thomas allegedly put the gun in the face of one of the women in a threatening manner, according to police.
Report: The man put the gun under the driver’s seat.
When he saw police cars approaching, Mr. Thomas ran to the driver’s side of the vehicle and put the gun under the driver’s seat, according to police.
A police commander gained permission to search the car. He found a gun in a holster under the driver’s side seat. The weapon had an empty chamber, an unloaded magazine in the magazine well, and a loaded magazine in the holster. The loaded magazine had 15 rounds in it, according to police.
Police secured the weapon in a gun box and placed it in an officer’s patrol vehicle. Mr. Thomas had a valid FOID but no CCL, according to police.
The weapon checked clear in LEADS. Police entered it into LEADS as recovered.
Aggravated Domestic Battery
Police arrested Daniel S. Williams, 43, of the 3400 block of Western Ave., Park Forest, on May 27 and charged him with aggravated domestic battery and unlawful possession of a weapon by someone convicted of a felony.
Police responded to a home on Western Avenue in Court H-4 at 6:23 PM to investigate a report of a domestic incident. Before their arrival, SouthCom Dispatch told police that a man allegedly choked and hit the complainant.
According to the report, police identified the man as Daniel S. Williams. Mr. Williams and the woman divorced in 2019 after several years of marriage. They had a nine-year-old child who was home during this incident.
Woman Reports Choking Incident
According to police, the woman was at a friend’s house in Glenwood earlier that day. When she got home, Mr. Williams allegedly confronted her and asked her whereabouts. The argument became physical, according to police. Mr. Williams reportedly choked her for about 5 to 10 seconds on the living room couch, according to police.
The woman said she could not breathe and felt like she was going to lose consciousness, according to police.
Woman Seeks Help
Mr. Williams then allegedly grabbed her by her hair and punched her with a closed fist on her head, according to police. The woman was able to leave the home with the young child she shared with Mr. Williams, according to police. She went to get help from a neighbor. She told police Mr. Williams was tracking her whereabouts with a GPS tracking device, according to police.
According to police, the officer who took her statement saw red markings on her neck and the left side of her forehead.
The woman told police Mr. Williams was still inside the home and gave police permission to enter. According to the woman, there was a long rifle inside the house. She said she wanted to pursue criminal complaints against Mr. Williams on a charge of domestic battery, according to the report.
Police approached the residence, knocked on the door, and made announcements, but there was no answer, according to police. They reached Mr. Williams by telephone. He said he was not home, but he agreed to return and speak with officers.
When he responded to the scene, police took Mr. Williams into custody and placed him in handcuffs.
Police Find GPS Tracker on Woman’s Car
When he spoke with police, he did not admit to committing battery against the woman, according to the report. He alleged that the woman lied to him about her whereabouts. He said the two of them got into a scuffle over her car keys and wanted to get her cell phone and look through it.
According to police, he told officers he knew about her whereabouts because he had put a GPS tracker on her car approximately two days earlier.
Police found the GPS tracker near the front left axle of the vehicle in question. Police conducted an in-house record search that showed no prior domestic incidents at the home on Western Avenue. However, officers did find two domestic incidents in South Holland involving Mr. Daniels and the woman, according to police.
Felony Aggravated Driving While License Revoked
Police arrested William M. Greaney, 54, of the 700 block of Hickory Court, Peotone, on May 28 and charged him with felony aggravated driving while his license was revoked, use of a cell phone on the roadway, and processed him in connection with a warrant from the Will County Sheriff’s Department on a charge of driving on a suspended license.
At 7:52 PM, an officer saw a black 2009 Jeep perform a U-turn on Sauk Trail. According to police, the driver allegedly had a cellular device in his hand.
The officer performed a U-turn and conducted a traffic stop of the Jeep. The driver, later identified as William M. Greaney, was allegedly still talking on the cellular device as the officer approached, according to police. When the officer asked, Mr. Greaney allegedly said he did not have a valid license, according to police.
The driver had an active warrant.
According to police, the officer learned that Mr. Greaney had a warrant out of Will County. While processing Mr. Greaney, the officer also learned that he had a prior arrest on a charge of driving during a statutory summary suspension/revocation on a prior DUI violation. This made Mr. Greaney eligible for felony charges, 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.
