South Suburban DUI Arrests, Feb. 5

Jan. 25: Felix Hernandez, 28, of the 13700 block of Trafalgar Court in Orland Park, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level greater than .08, improper lane use, failure to signal and avoiding a traffic control device. Police pulled over a car after seeing it cross into the median, swerve between lanes, turn without signaling and cross through a parking lot, on 82nd Avenue near Uxbridge Drive around 2:10 a.m. The driver’s breath smelled like alcohol and he failed field sobriety tests, police said.

Jan. 24: Juan C. Cruz-Hernandez, 25, of the 5000 block of 159th Street in Oak Forest, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving an uninsured vehicle and illegal transportation of alcohol. Police were called about a parked SUV playing loud music. The officer smelled alcohol while standing near the driver, and also saw an open beer can in the console, as well as several empty cans inside the SUV, police said. The driver failed field sobriety tests and was uncooperative, police said.

Jan. 24: Marjorie L. Amerio, 44, of the 9200 block of Whitehall Lane in Orland Park, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level greater than .08, speeding and failure to notify about an address change. Police pulled over a car after seeing it swerve and almost hit a curb, as well as driving 30 mph in a 20 mph zone, at Westminster Drive and Waterford Lane around 11:50 p.m. The driver’s breath smelled like alcohol, she had trouble finding items in her car and later failed field sobriety tests, police said.

Jan. 24: Thomas M. Farrington, 52, of the 15300 block of South Royal Georgian Road in Orland Park, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level greater than .08. Police were called about a man who was drinking on a Metra train, and later was wandering the lot at 153rd Street trying to find his car around 7:20 p.m. Police found a man matching the description given sitting in a Saturn with the engine running, according to the report. The man couldn’t find his driver’s license, slurred his speech heavily, smelled of alcohol and failed field sobriety tests, police said. He also admitted to drinking beers before getting into his car, police said.

Jan. 28: When police responded to a one-vehicle crash on Friday, they found four wounded passengers and a drunken driver, they said. got to Lakewood and Lakebluff drives around 1:40 a.m. and found a 2004 Buick Century resting against a "solid railroad tie landscaping wall" with its airbags deployed, according to the report. Two people were walking around the vehicle—one was limping and bleeding from the head and the other was standing and bleeding from his face. The driver, Leo J. Morrison, 21, of the 9200 block of Sawyer Avenue in Evergreen Park, was bleeding and pinned between the front driver's seat and the dashboard, police said. .

Jan. 24: Police arrested Richard J. Stoklosa, 59, of the 7300 block of Blackhawk Drive in Tinley Park, around 8:45 p.m., saying he rear-ended a car in front of him, resulting in a four-vehicle crash. The pileup was in the 17800 block of South Route 45 in Tinley Park and Orland officers assisted at the scene, police said. One of the drivers was taken to Silver Cross Hospital for treatment. Police said that while they were interviewing Stoklosa at the scene, he was slurring his words and smelled like alcohol. They said he admitted to drinking four beers in the "last several hours." He reportedly failed field sobriety tests and blew a .126 on the Breathalyzer test. He was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.08.

Jan. 23: Despite his urging,  officers didn't cut a reported drunken driver any slack. They pulled over James P. Kedrick, 54, of the 10600 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Chicago, around 9:40 p.m. Jan. 23 after getting a report that his tan Mercury was "weaving in and out of the lanes of traffic and striking the median," police said. When  officers caught up with him, he was cruising 25 mph in a 40 mph zone, they said. They noted the same driving behavior that their tipster did and pulled over Kedrick in the 17200 block of Harlem Avenue, according to the report. .

Jan. 29: Nicole L. Mejstrik, 39, of Chicago Ridge, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a car accident. Police said Mejstrik crashed into a utility pole at Gougar Road and Maple Street at about 3:50 a.m. Mejstrik was also charged with speeding and driving without insurance. She posted bond and was given a court date. Mejstrik was not injured.

Jan. 28: Benjamin H. Griffin, 39, of the 700 block of Bon Terre Road in New Lenox, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following a car accident. Police said Griffin was speeding along Cedar Road and rear ended a car that was stopped near Edison Drive, waiting for a train to pass at about 1:56 p.m. Police found a half-empty bottle of liquor and a hitter box in Griffin's car. He was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, speeding and the illegal transportation of alcohol. Griffin posted bond and was given a court date.

Jan. 24: Tammy L. Rueda, 35, of Joliet, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Police responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle at the 7-Eleven on Laraway Road at about 2:16 a.m., and after making contact with Rueda they said she had been driving drunk. Rueda posted bond and was given a court date.

Jan. 26: Heather O'Donnell, 32, of the 17100 block of 71st Avenue in Tinley Park, was charged with drunken driving. She was stopped at 2:33 a.m. for speeding, police said. She failed a breath test, police said.

Jan. 25: Carolyn Carr, 46, of the 10300 block of Mansfield in Oak Lawn, was charged with drunken driving. She was stopped at 8:26 p.m. after she was involved in an accident while making a turn, police said. She was driving on a revoked license and was determine to be under the influence, police said.

Jan. 28: Jessica L. Richards, 18, of the 17200 block of 110th Court in Orland Park, was charged with possession of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, disobey traffic control device and illegal possession of alcohol by minor. Police said they stopped Richards’ car at 114th Avenue and 187th Street around 12:30 a.m. for making an illegal left turn at the intersection. Officers seized 3.8 grams of marijuana, glass pipes and a grinder, and cans of beer from the car and Richards’ purse, according to the report.

Jan. 21: Brian A. Rasmussen, 29, of the 19600 block of Sycamore Street in Mokena, was charged with driving under the influence, improper lane usage and too fast for conditions. Police said they smelled alcohol on Rasmussen’s breath after arriving to investigate a car stuck in a snowy ditch at LaGrange Road and Willow Lane around 2:30 a.m. He failed field sobriety and Breathalyzer tests, according to the report.



Jan. 20: Maribel Candia, 20, of the 1000 block of Campbell Avenue, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after police stopped her in the 300 block of Joe Orr Road at 1:15 a.m., according to the report.

Jan. 20: Connor Smith, 21, of the 8200 block of Hillcrest Drive in Orland Park, was charged with drunken driving. Smith was stopped at 2:04 a.m. after his car was observed swerving down LaGrange Road, police said. A breath test revealed a blood alcohol level of .16, twice the legal limit, police said.

Jan. 27, DUI Charges Mounting for Indiana Man: A Hammond, IN, man cruising through the Southland last week was hit with three counts of DUI in three days. said they smelled marijuana and alcohol after stopping 37-year-old Humberto Lopez’s car at 14th and Halsted streets around 7 p.m. Jan. 27 for turning illegally on red. Lopez failed initial field sobriety tests and refused to take anymore or blow into a Breathalyzer, but admitted to smoking a joint and drinking beer before getting behind the wheel, police said. This followed a similar arrest in Homewood two days prior, in which police said they stopped Lopez at Halsted Street and Holbrook Road around 6 p.m. for swerving between lanes.



Jan. 26: Timothy J. Layton, 24, of the 7700 block of West Frankfort Square Road, was charged with driving under the influence, driving without insurance and improper lane use after a traffic stop near the intersection of Folkers Road and North Maple Street. Layton's next court date is March 1.

Jan. 5, Cops Nab Woman on DUI with Child in Tow: Police found a woman driving around Evergreen Park with a child and an open bottle of beer in the back seat. A woman driving a white Hyundai stopped and asked people for directions on Jan. 5 at about 4:48 p.m. She appeared intoxicated, and the witnesses called police, according to police. .

Police report information is provided by local police departments. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.