Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- These police reports include arrests through October 15, 2019. Charges for those arrested during this time period include DUIs and driving without insurance.
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 DepartmentInvestigations 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.
DUI, Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle
Marcell E. Lipscomb, 30, 4525 Heartland Dr. #32C, Richton Park, was arrested on October 12 and issued citations charging driving under the influence of alcohol, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, and improper lane usage.
Police were dispatched to the 200 block of Allegheny Street at approximately 5:13 AM when a man woke up to discover that someone had allegedly just struck his vehicle with another car.
A family member woke up the man after hearing a loud noise and looking outside.
A responding officer observed that the rear driver side bumper and taillight of the complainant’s vehicle were significantly damaged. The officer saw a trail of debris leading from that vehicle to a black sedan approximately 200 feet away which was parked in front of another residence.
In the driver seat of that vehicle was Marcell E. Lipscomb, according to police. There was also a passenger in the vehicle.
A responding officer noted a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from Mr. Lipscomb’s breath, according to police. The officer also noted that Mr. Lipscomb “had strangely slurred speech along with bloodshot glassy eyes,” according to the report.
After administering field sobriety tests, police arrested Mr. Lipscomb under suspicion of driving under the influence and transported him to the Park Forest Police Department. The vehicle he was driving was impounded per local ordinance.
Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle
Gabrielle A. Miller, 21, 17132 Grant St., Lansing, was arrested on October 12 and issued traffic citations charging expired registration, operation of an uninsured motor vehicle, and no valid driver’s license.
A passenger in the vehicle Miller was driving, Jamari B. Muldrow Jr., 22, 308 Shawnee St., Park Forest, was arrested and processed on an extraditable arrest warrant from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.
At approximately 8:17 PM, a Richton Park police officer attempted to effect a traffic stop on a 2018 Hyundai Sonata near the intersection of Sauk Trail and Blackhawk Drive in Park Forest. The vehicle allegedly fled from the officer at a high rate of speed southbound on Blackhawk Drive, according to police. An officer from Park Forest responded to the intersection of Blackhawk Drive and Monee Road and observed the Hyundai traveling southbound on Blackhawk Drive allegedly at a high rate of speed and then continue eastbound on Monee Road, allegedly failing to stop at the posted stop sign at Blackhawk Drive and Monee Road, according to police.
The officer from Park Forest did not pursue the Hyundai at that time.
Later on, at approximately 11:30 PM on the same date, the officer located the Hyundai traveling westbound on Sauk Trail near Western Avenue. The officer turned westbound on Sauk Trail and the Hyundai immediately began to brake and turned quickly south on Osage Street.
The officer followed the vehicle and notified SouthCom Dispatch.
The officer conducted a LEADS inquiry and learned that the registration of the vehicle had expired in September 2019. The officer caught up with the vehicle near the intersection of Osage and Ottawa Streets, activated the emergency lighting on his patrol vehicle, and curbed the Hyundai on Ottawa Street.
Several other officers responded to assist.
The first officer who discovered the vehicle exited his patrol vehicle, drew his department-issued handgun, and ordered all occupants to put their hands outside the windows. The driver, later identified as Gabrielle Miller, and the passenger, later defined as Jamari B. Muldrow Jr., both complied.
Police took both subjects into custody without incident.
The officer from Richton Park responded to the scene but was unable to identify the driver. A LEADS inquiry yielded information that Ms. Miller did not have a valid driver’s license and Mr. Muldrow had an active an extraditable arrest warrant from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, according to police.
DUI – Alcohol
Jose Espino-Gonsalez, 59, 210 4th Ave., Joliet, was arrested on October 13 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of alcohol with a BAC greater than .08, and improper lane usage after police responded at 12:40 AM to the first block of Sauk Trail to investigate a single-vehicle accident.
When police arrived, they discovered a brown Dodge Grand Caravan with heavy front-end damage that had crashed into a tree in the first block of Sauk Trail. They also discovered another vehicle that had heavy rear-end damage which appeared to have been struck by the first vehicle.
A man, later identified as Jose Espino-Gonsalez, was walking away from the Dodge with the keys to the vehicle in his hand, according to police. An officer spoke with Mr. Espino-Gonsalez, who related that he did not speak English and asked if any of the responding officers spoke Spanish. One of the officers on-scene replied that he was bilingual and has been fluent in Spanish for approximately 26 years.
Mr. Espino-Gonsalez “immediately admitted to being drunk,” according to the report.
Mr. Espino-Gonsalez allegedly said that he was on his way to Joliet from a party in Chicago Heights when he drove his Dodge van off the roadway, according to police. He said that he was “drunk,” according to the police.
The officer who spoke with Mr. Espino-Gonsalez conducted field sobriety tests with him, after which, police informed Mr. Espino-Gonsalez that he was being placed under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
At the Park Forest Police Department, Mr. Espino-Gonsalez agreed to provide a breath sample, which revealed a BAC of 0.17, according to police.
