Police Blotter: Theft Crews and Drinking Blues

THURSDAY, APRIL 14

One Light Stop

Police said a car was pulled over near 143rd Street and Wedgewood Glens Drive around 12:40 a.m. for driving with one working headlight. Police smelled alcohol on the breath of the driver, and he failed field sobriety tests, according to the report. Joseph W. Bell, 27, of the 6700 block of Tinley Park Drive in Tinley Park, was charged with driving under the influence.  

MONDAY, APRIL 11

Theft Crew I

Police said a blue Chevrolet Cavalier was seen driving to different parking spots in the lot around 6:45 p.m., with two men and a woman inside. The three got out of the car and one man and the woman went into a department store in the mall, while the other man rearranged items in the trunk, according to a police report. About 40 minutes later, the man and woman came back to car, and the woman was carrying a full purse. Police pulled the car over after it started driving away from the lot. The woman’s purse was filled with women’s clothing, and several bags with tagged merchandise were found in the trunk, according to the report. The merchandise was worth a total of $648, police said.

An outstanding warrant was found for the woman, Miranda Drudge, 20, of the 7700 block of 82nd Street in Merrillville, IN. She was arrested on the warrant and charged with felony retail theft. The driver, Francisco M. Silva, 36, of the 2800 block of Dearborn Street in Lake Station, IN., was charged with misdemeanor retail theft. The man who went into the mall with Drudge, Jamie A. Demarco, 28, of the 7100 block of Broadway Street in Merrillville, IN., was given a municipal violation for retail theft.

SATURDAY, APRIL 9

Theft Crew II

An officer saw two people sitting in a car parked outside a department store at Orland Square Mall around 8:10 p.m., when Willie F. Howard, 51, of the 1300 block of West Van Buren Street in Chicago, was seen handing an item to one of the passengers before going back into the mall, according to a report. Howard was seen again about 30 minutes later handing another item to a person in the car, police said. After about another 20 minutes, Howard returned to the car with a shopping bag, got in and the car drove away.

The car was pulled over after police saw it had no rear registration light and the driver didn’t signal while making a turn and while changing lanes, according to the report. The driver, Antonio F. Howard, 27, of the 500 block of East 38th Street in Chicago, said he didn’t have a license or insurance, and the car didn’t belong to him. Merchandise without a receipt was found in the trunk including jeans, a telescope, cologne and a cell phone, police said. A warrant was found for the other passenger, Glenda C. Clark, 21, of the 12000 block of South Princeton Avenue in Chicago, and she was arrested. Antonio Howard was charged with driving with a revoked license, driving an uninsured vehicle, failure to signal and driving without a rear registration light. Willie Howard was charged with theft and possession of stolen property.

THURSDAY, APRIL 7

Cut Off

Police were called to a restaurant in the 8600 block of 159th Street about a disruptive person around 7:30 p.m. A drunk man was cut off from the bar but refused to leave, according to the police report. When an officer explained that he couldn’t go back into the restaurant, the man argued and shouted at the officer, police said. The man said he didn’t drive to the restaurant, but police saw him get into a white SUV and drive away before being pulled over. Jose M. Dominquez, 63, of the 15600 block of Innsbrook Lane in Orland Park, was charged with driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level greater than .08 and driving with a suspended license.