Immediate action by three Oak Park detectives led to the arrest of an armed robbery suspect within 45 minutes after he battered and robbed an Oak Park man. The man was walking with his wife near Euclid Avenue and Jackson Boulevard around 11 p.m., May 13, when they were approached by a man who hit him in the head with a large silver handgun and said, “Give me your money and don’t look at my face.” When the man turned over cash, the gunman reached into his pocket and took his wallet. Police got the description of the robber’s distinctive looking car from a witness, and two other detectives drove around to gas stations looking for the car.
The two cops spotted a man pumping gas into the car at a station near Roosevelt and Harlem, and approached to question him. The man, Noel Meza, 26, of 59th Street in Cicero, allegedly fought briefly before being subdued. Police say they found the victim’s wallet and a pellet gun in the car, and the victim’s credit card on Meza.
Burglary
Two gold Kruggerands valued at $1,460 were taken from an unlocked Saturn Vue parked in an alley behind the 700 block of South Taylor Avenue, overnight May 11. Around 3 a.m. on May 13, one James Thompson, 31, of the 400 block of South Austin Boulevard was allegedly observed by police looking into cars in the 100 block of South Humphrey. He was arrested after refusing a request to stop. A custody search then reportedly turned up two gold Kruggerands in his possession.
Burglars removed a small pane of glass from a front door in the first block of Washington Boulevard during the day May 10, then reached in and unlocked the door. They ransacked the residence, taking $430 in cash, various jewelry, electronic items and a cellphone. Total loss was $2,600.
James C. Wheeler, 37, of the 5900 block of West Fulton Street was arrested by Chicago police and turned over to Oak Park in relation to an alleged burglary committed overnight Jan. 14 in the first block of Superior Street.
Williams Clemons, 21, of 935 South Boulevard was arrested after allegedly being observed reaching into a vehicle in the 1100 block of Washington Boulevard the night of May 9. Besides parts of the car’s glove compartment, Clemons was reportedly in possession of a car key and remote control taken in a Feb. 28 burglary in the 400 block of South Wisconsin.
Armed Robbery
Four teens in hooded sweatshirts approached a Chicago man as he road his bike in the 1000 block of North Harlem around 2:45 a.m., May 14. After pushing the man off his bike, one teen pointed a silver handgun at him and said “What you got?” A second teen then removed the man’s wallet, took out $20 and tossed the wallet aside, and fled on the man’s bike.
A man in his late teens wearing a hooded sweatshirt was observed walking first southbound then northbound in an alley behind the 1150 block of Wenonah around 10 p.m., May 11. He then walked up to a man, pulled a revolver from his sweater pouch and said, “Gimme what you got.” The man gave up a cellphone, wallet and ATM card.
A man walked into Swan Cleaners, 201 N. Harlem Ave. just before 1 p.m., May 8 and implied he had a gun. He got away with $50.
Criminal defacement
Someone used a black marker to write disparaging racial remarks and a swastika on the side door of a home in the 400 block of North Humphrey overnight on May 8.
Theft
Just after noon, May 12, two men surrounded a woman walking out the east door of the Oak Park main post office. While one feigned having his hand caught in the door, the second man lifted the woman’s wallet, which reportedly contained $1,100, from her purse. An unattended purse containing credit cards, driver’s license and $50 cash was stolen from an office at the Rush Medical Center, 610 S. Maple Ave. the afternoon of May 9. That same day, an ATM card was stolen from an unsecured, unattended jacket hanging on a coat rack in another office at the medical center.
An iPod and cellphone valued in total at $600 was stolen from a locker at Percy Julian Middle School during the day May 9.
A 30-gigibyte iPod, valued at $425 was stolen from a gym locker in Brooks Middle School around noon May 12.
Vehicle theft
A 2000 Ford Taurus, parked in the rear of a residence in the 500 block of South Harvey Avenue was stolen overnight May 5. Loss was $2,000.
Tracy White, 38, and Angel D. Banks, 37, both of Maywood, were arrested after being stopped by Forest Park police in the 500 block of Desplaines Avenue the afternoon of May 8 in a 1998 Toyota Corolla. The car had been reported stolen from a parking lot of the Rush Medical Center, 610 S. Maple Ave., on April 25.
A 1993 Nissan 240 SX, valued at $12,000, was stolen off the street in the 1000 block of South Humphrey between midnight and noon on May 14.
A 1992 Subaru Legacy, stolen from the 400 block of North Taylor during the day, May 7, was recovered by Chicago police in the 4800 block of West Crystal. One person was arrested.
DUI, etc.
Henry L. Dean, 62, of the 3500 block of Oak Park Avenue, Berwyn, was involved in a traffic accident just before 1 a.m., May 8. Dean was allegedly driving westbound in the eastbound lanes in the 700 block of Madison Street. Police say he had a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech.
Robert A. Jaso, 23, of Michigan City, Ind., was stopped for an alleged traffic violation in the 400 block of Maple Avenue just before 7 a.m., May 14. He failed a sobriety test and reportedly had a blood alcohol count of .221.
Unlawful use of a weapon, etc.
Brian R. Vann, 23, who said he comes from Orlando, Fla., was pulled over just before 7 p.m., May 14, for allegedly failing to signal. When police determined Vann had a suspended driver’s license and was wanted on a Schiller Park warrant for the the same offense, he was arrested and his car towed. An inventory of the car turned up a loaded .380 caliber pistol that had been reported stolen in Washington. D.C.
Disorderly conduct
Russel G. Derbus, 50, who lists his address as a PADS shelter in Forest Park, was arrested after allegedly being observed in the street obstructing traffic in the 1100 block of Lake Street the afternoon of May 11.
These items were obtained from police reports filed by the Oak Park and River Forest police departments from May 8 to May 15. Not all incidents that occurred are listed. Anyone named in reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated.
?#34;Compiled by Bill Dwyer