Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Editor’s Note: These police reports bring us through December 11, 2018. Charges for those cited in this time period include incidences alleging criminal damage to property, leaving the scene of an accident, DUI, possession of drug paraphernalia, and domestic battery bodily harm.
Providing more details than readers will find in any other police beat reports, we invite readers to subscribe to get the whole story, every day.
eNews Park Forest has always published 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 who have been charged, including their name, age, and address. This information is necessary to ensure the proper identity of those arrested.
An arrest does not mean that a person is guilty. All those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty. It is the policy of eNews Park Forest to not remove items in the public record from publication. If your name is listed in the police reports, 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.
Persons wishing to leave anonymous information on any criminal matters including narcotics or gang activity are encouraged to call the Park Forest Police Department Investigations Division at (708) 748-1309.
eNews Park Forest reports this information because the public in the United States has the right to know. When that information is withheld or under-reported, it leaves questions. We also want to show the work that the police force does every day that is not reported. Police in Park Forest respond to thousands of calls per year, the vast majority of which do not end up with arrests. Whether it’s conducting a routine investigation, pulling over a drunk driver, or responding to a possible theft at a store, the work of the police officer deserves acknowledgment by the public.
Criminal Damage to Property
Jalen T. Lewis, 23, 3427 Kings Rd., Steger, was arrested on December 8 and charged with one count of criminal damage to property, leaving the scene of an accident, and issued a citation charging improper lane usage. Mr. Lewis
Police
When officers arrived, they saw a detached Street light pole laying on the front lawn of a residence in the first block of Sauk Trail. They also found the front fender of a gray Mitsubishi with the front license plate still attached to the fender.
Police located the owner of the gray Mitsubishi, Jalen T. Lewis, after a friend of his showed up at the scene of the accident, telling the police Mr. Lewis had called her to say that he had been in an accident. She drove to the scene to see what had occurred.
This person called Mr. Lewis on her phone and an officer spoke with Mr. Lewis who agreed to meet officers at the Shell Gas Station, located at the southwest intersection of Steger Road and Kings Road in Steger. Officers showed up at that gas station and located Mr. Lewis who told them that he was approaching the stop light near Western Avenue on Sauk Trail when he was struck from behind by a white SUV. His vehicle went over the curb, struck a light pole, drove into the lawn of a residence in the first block of Sauk Trail, and then drove back onto Sauk Trail.
Mr. Lewis told police that he then made a right-hand turn onto Western Avenue, traveling southbound, and realized that his right rear passenger side tire was flat. He then stopped his vehicle, contacted an unknown tow company, and had his vehicle towed to his residence in the 3400
Police placed Mr. Lewis under arrest on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident. There were no witnesses to a white SUV in the police report.
DUI
Sheldon R. Davis, 48, 22427 Jean Ct., Richton Park, was arrested on December 8 and charged with driving under the influence, improper lane usage, improper turn, and failure to signal.
An officer traveling eastbound on Lakewood Boulevard from Westwood Drive at approximately 11:22 PM observed directly in front of his vehicle a Toyota Corolla traveling eastbound on Lakewood Boulevard at a high rate of speed, beyond the posted 30 miles per hour speed limit, according to police.
The officer began increasing his speed in an effort to catch up to and pace the Toyota, reaching 43 miles per hour. However, the officer was too far behind to accurately determine the speed of the Toyota, according to police. When the officer began to get to a speed where he was able to maintain an equal distance from the Toyota, the Toyota braked suddenly at West Rocket Circle and Lakewood Boulevard, slowing its speed dramatically, according to police. The Toyota then accelerated again to the point that it created a distance from the officer, who was at that time traveling at 30 miles per hour.
According to police, the Toyota reached East Rocket Circle Drive and drifted to the left, or North, with the driver’s side tires completely over the center yellow line on Lakewood Boulevard. The Toyota was in the westbound traffic lane for approximately 100 yards, according to police, before getting completely back into the eastbound traffic lane of Lakewood Boulevard, near the entrance to the Park Forest Library.
As the officer approached the Toyota, it once again
The Toyota made a “wide sweeping and somewhat jerky left turn,” according to the report.
The officer activated his emergency equipment upon turning onto Orchard Drive, curbing the Toyota in the bike lane. As the officer began to approach the Toyota, it began to lurch forward, according to police. The officer yelled for the driver to put the car in park, and the driver complied.
The officer approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and spoke with the driver, identified as Sheldon R. Davis. The officer saw a cell phone with a navigation map illuminated on the driver’s side floorboard. The officer also detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from Mr. Davis’ breath as he spoke, according to the report. The officer observed that Mr. Davis’ eyes were “extremely bloodshot and glassy, and his speech was slow, mumbled and slurred,” according to the report.
The officer asked Mr. Davis to get out of the car so that the officer could administer Standard Field Sobriety Tests. As the officer explained the tests to Mr. Davis, Mr. Davis said, “I’m wanna make I’m not doing anything beyond my legal law,” according to the report.
After administering the tests, police arrested Mr. Davis and his vehicle was towed from the scene.
Domestic Battery Bodily Harm
Darrell Givens, 34, 58 Ash St., Park Forest, was arrested on December 8 and charged with one count of domestic battery bodily harm after police were dispatched at 11:59 PM on December 8 to the first block of Ash Street to investigate a report of domestic battery.
According to police, a family member of Mr. Givens’ took Mr. Givens’ cell phone because she suspected infidelity. The two began arguing very loudly and Mr. Givens allegedly came behind her and attempted to take his phone from her. He allegedly attempted to reach his right arm around the front of her chest and grab his phone from where she had hidden it. He allegedly tore and ripped at her shirt to get the phone and then he allegedly slid his arm upward under her chin.
The alleged victim explained that she felt that Mr. Givens had placed her in a chokehold momentarily and she feared she would lose consciousness so she bit his hand near his right thumb, according to police.
A responding officer observed several areas of discoloration around the woman’s neck “consistent with being held around the neck in a choking manner,” according to police.
Police placed Mr. Givens under arrest on suspicion of
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
Diego Chavez, 28, 1512 Schilling Ave., Chicago Heights, was issued citations on December 11 charging speeding, illegal transportation of open liquor, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Mr. Chavez was given a mandatory court date of January 25,
An officer performing traffic enforcement at Indiana Street and Lincoln Highway at 2:12 PM saw a silver vehicle traveling eastbound on Lincoln Highway from the Metra Train lines at a high rate of speed, according to police. The officer activated the in-car mounted radar and saw that the vehicle was traveling at 67 miles per hour, according to police. The officer pulled onto Lincoln Highway behind the silver vehicle and curbed it on Lincoln Highway west of Brookwood Drive. The driver and sole occupant, Diego Chavez, told the officer that he was rushing to get home and then go back to work.
The officer detected a strong odor of cannabis emanating from within the vehicle, according to the report. When the officer shared his suspicions with Mr. Chavez, Mr. Chavez voluntarily showed the officer a small portion of an older hand rolled cigar formally containing cannabis, according to police. Mr. Chavez said he would allow the officer to search his vehicle without the officer having to ask for consent, according to the report.
In the front passenger area of the vehicle, the officer found a silver smoking pipe, a white smoking pipe, a white and brown smoking pipe, and a wooden “Chicago Cubs” one-hitter box which the report states was used for storing cannabis and the white and brown pipe, according to police.
Behind the front passenger seat, the officer located a black bag containing a
When asked about the box and pipes, Mr. Chavez allegedly said that the pipes were for smoking cannabis and the wooden box was for storing cannabis and one of the pipes, according to the report.
Mr. Chavez
