Law and Order, Local, Local Police Reports, Park Forest

DUI on Lincoln Highway: Police Reports Through April 4, 2022


Autism-awareness squad car of the Park Forest Police Department.
The autism-awareness squad car of the Park Forest Police Department. (Photo: Gary Kopycinski)

Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Park Forest police arrested a Chicago man on April 2 and charged him with DUI on Lincoln Highway when an officer clocked a vehicle allegedly speeding on the busy street. According to police, the man’s speech was “heavily slurred” and he allegedly had an odor of alcoholic beverage “emanating” from his breath, police said.

His DUI arrest on Lincoln Highway was one of several during the week of March 29 through April 4, 2022.

Park Forest police typically patrol the southern, eastbound portion of Lincoln Highway, as this DUI arrest indicates. However, police may and often curb vehicles traveling west as well.

No Valid Driver’s License

Destiny Johnson, 22, 14023 Tracy Ave., Riverdale, was arrested on March 29th and issued traffic citations charging expired registration and no valid driver’s license. Ms. Johnson was also charged with one count of obstructing identification with a mandatory court appearance on April 20th, 2022 at the Markham Courthouse.

An officer was on patrol at 9:40 p.m. traveling westbound on Sauk Trail when he saw a vehicle with a temporary Indiana registration also traveling westbound. The officer conducted an inquiry and learned that the registration on the vehicle expired on February 25, 2022.

The officer curbed the vehicle on Sauk Trail and spoke with the driver, later identified as Destiny Johnson, according to police. Ms. Johnson allegedly told the officer that the vehicle belonged to her sister and provided the officer with her cellular phone which had a blurry image of an Indiana driver’s license, according to police. The officer told Ms. Johnson the picture was unreadable and asked that she provide her name and date of birth.

Ms. Johnson allegedly provided a false name and false birthdate, according to police. After further inquiry, Ms. Johnson “became emotional and stated that she did not have a license,” according to the report.

Police secured Ms. Johnson and put her in a patrol vehicle. Her car was towed from the scene. Her two passengers were offered rides to the Park Forest Police Department lobby but both declined and left the scene on foot, according to police.

Obstructing

James D. Jenkins, 34, 3306 W. Columbus Ave., Chicago, was arrested on March 29 and charged with obstructing a peace officer when police were dispatched to Walnut Street to investigate a domestic incident, according to police.

When police arrived, they saw a man, later identified as James Jenkins, in the garage of the house. Mr. Jenkins was allegedly deflating the tires to a vehicle, according to police.

Mr. Jenkins told police that he was upset with his “wife,” according to police. Mr. Jenkins appeared to be highly intoxicated, according to police.

When the woman with whom Mr. Jenkins was upset came out, she told police that Mr. Jenkins and she are not married and he does not live there, according to police. She said that Mr. Jenkins allegedly came to the house highly intoxicated and began to kick the door leading from the garage to the residence, according to police.

When she came outside, Mr. Jenkins allegedly returned to the car and began to let the air out of one of the tires once again, according to police. According to police, Mr. Jenkins had to be told six times to stop deflating the tire and exit the garage.

The woman said that nothing physical occurred between the two and she did not wish to sign a criminal complaint regarding the damaged door, according to police.

Domestic Battery

Derika R. Richardson, 23, 319 Todd St., Park Forest, was arrested on March 31 and charged with domestic battery, criminal damage to property, and endangering the life of a child when police were dispatched to the 100 block of Algonquin Street to investigate what police referred to as a “physical domestic.”

Upon arrival, police spoke with Ms. Richardson who said someone at the home had choked her, according to the report. However, police said Ms. Richardson allegedly “failed to mention she grabbed multiple knives from the kitchen in an attempt to harm” someone prior to that altercation, according to the report.

Subsequently, police learned a man suffered a small laceration to his outer palm, according to police. Police determined that Ms. Richardson was the alleged aggressor, according to the report.

DUI

James Whaley was charged with DUI
James Whaley of Chicago was charged with DUI on April 2, 2022. (Photo: PFPD)

James Whaley, 29, 23 E. 119th PL #2, Chicago, was arrested on April 2 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, DUI with a breath alcohol concentration above 0.08, and aggravated speeding. The DUI arrest was made on Lincoln Highway.

An officer was on patrol just after 12:30 AM when he observed a vehicle allegedly traveling on Lincoln Highway at a high rate of speed, according to police. Using his vehicle’s dash-mounted radar, the officer determined that the car was traveling at 82 miles per hour, according to police.

The officer curbed the vehicle on Route 30 just east of Orchard Drive. The driver and sole occupant of the car was James Whaley, according to police.

The officer asked Mr. Whaley why he was traveling so fast. Mr. Whaley allegedly replied, “Man, my tire, it was going up but I was trying to get some air at shells [sic],” according to the report.

The officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol emanating from Mr. Whaley’s breath, according to police. After conducting field sobriety tests, the officer took Mr. Whaley into custody. At the station, Mr. Whaley submitted a breath sample which yielded a BrAC of .152, according to police.

Domestic Battery

Marvin D. Mixon, 50, 5908 Woodgate Dr., Matteson, was arrested on April 2 and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery when police were dispatched to a residence on Sycamore Drive to investigate a domestic incident.

Police learned that Mr. Mixon was wanted on a domestic battery charge out of Park Forest, so, in addition to the charge in this incident, Mr. Mixon was processed and charged on the warrant, according to police.

Criminal Damage to Property

Ashton Boyed, 28, 31 Abbey Lane, Park Forest, was arrested on April 3 and charged with misdemeanor criminal damage to property when police were dispatched to Abbey Lane in reference to a report of a disturbance.

According to police, the complainant, a delivery driver, had her car kicked. SouthCom Dispatch also said someone said the delivery driver tried to run over her feet, according to police.

The delivery driver said she called Ashton Boyed to tell her they did not have orange soda. Ms. Boyed said she would switch to Sprite. The customer then came from the house to the driver’s vehicle to try to get marinara sauce, according to the police. Ms. Boyed then allegedly kicked the driver’s vehicle and began threatening that she was “going to come up to her job,” according to police. The driver did not have the right soda or the marinara sauce, according to the report.

The driver showed the responding officer where Ms. Boyed allegedly damaged her vehicle, according to the report.

Domestic Battery

Daniel C. Johnson Jr., 53, 373 Winona St., Park Forest, was arrested on April 4 and charged with domestic battery, obstructing a peace officer, and resisting a peace officer when police were dispatched to Winona Street to investigate a report of a domestic disturbance.

The caller, who was not on the scene, told police that her friend was intoxicated at the residence and allegedly put his hands on her friend, according to police. Her friend had locked herself in the bathroom, according to police.

When people arrived, they saw Daniel Johnson, who stepped onto the porch, according to police. Mr. Johnson began talking and “immediately showed signs of being severely intoxicated,” according to the report.

Mr. Johnson said he was upset because the previous night his dog was bit and almost died, according to the report.

A responding officer asked Mr. Johnson who was currently in the residence. Mr. Johnson allegedly began yelling, pointing a finger at the officer within a couple of feet of the officer’s face, then allegedly said “her kids” and “her,” and, “She ran in the bathroom or whatever and called the police on me,” according to police.

An officer tried to gain entry to the house to check on the woman when Mr. Johnson allegedly stepped inside the residence and “forcefully pushed on the door, causing it to strike the entryway wall and knock something down,” according to the report.

Based on his allegedly aggressive speech and actions, a Sergeant determined that Mr. Johnson was directly interfering with police checking on the woman and that Mr. Johnson should be handcuffed, according to police. Mr. Johnson allegedly stiffened his arms and pulled them away from officers when they tried to place him in handcuffs, according to police. After struggling with Mr. Johnson for about half a minute, police finally placed him in handcuffs, according to the report.

When police spoke with the woman, they learned that Mr. Johnson allegedly placed his hand on the woman’s neck and she could not breathe while his hand was on her neck, according to police. Another person at the residence gave police a similar account of this incident, according to the report.

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.

Police captured all the incidents in this report on body-worn and dash-mounted cameras by officers at the respective scenes, according to police. 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.


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