Tag Archives: Riverside

Teens party at family’s condo, boy jumps out window to avoid cops

Jan 23, 2017 | WLSAM Staff
The rear window that a 15-year-old boy jumped out of after Riverside police arrived at the condominium for a possible burglary on Friday. | Riverside police

 

(RIVERSIDE) Officers were called to a Riverside condo Friday night for a possibly burglary in progress, but learned six teens had thrown a party at their family’s unit in the western suburb.

A relative went to check on an in-law’s condo about 9:40 p.m. in the first block of East Burlington and encountered someone behind the front door holding it shut and voices inside, according to Riverside police. No one should have been at the home since the owners had been away for a while.

As officers arrived, a 15-year-old boy jumped 25 feet out a second-floor, rear window and then ran before officers could catch him, police said. Officers and a K9 searched the area and were able to find some items from the home in the yard.

Investigators learned that a boy was taken to Elmhurst Hospital for treatment from the fall. He injured his hand, wrist and arm, and immediately went into surgery on Friday.

Large amounts of alcohol were found inside the condo and police discovered that four boys and two girls, ages 15 and 16, threw a party, police said. Two of the teens were related to the condo owner.

The condo owner was not interested in pursuing criminal charges and was uncooperative with police since family members had been the people inside the home. However, police are continuing to investigate the incident.

“I have directed my investigators to look into the parental responsibility ordinance that Riverside has in place and if warranted, charge those involved and their parents,” Riverside Police Chief Weitzel said in a statement. “Police resources not only from Riverside but North Riverside and the Forest Park K9 unit were used, not to mention the fact that numerous residents and visitors watched the scene unfold as it happened directly in the center of town Friday night.”

The rear window that a 15-year-old boy jumped out of after Riverside police arrived at the condominium for a possible burglary on Friday. | Riverside police
The rear window that a 15-year-old boy jumped out of after Riverside police arrived at the condominium for a possible burglary on Friday. | Riverside police

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Police: Drunken driver punched, spat on Riverside officer

Apr 25, 2016 | WLSAM Staff
Latoya King | Riverside police

(RIVERSIDE) A Chicago woman was arrested Saturday for battering and spitting on a Riverside police officer after she was caught driving drunkenly in the west suburb.

Latyoa L. King, 32, was charged with aggravated DUI and aggravated battery to a police officer, both felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts obstruction of identification, resisting arrest, DUI, driving without a valid licenses and several other traffic citations, according to a statement from Riverside police.

Just before 2:30 a.m., an officer saw a vehicle going headed south in the 3200 block of Harlem 53 mph in a 35 mph zone, police said. The vehicle turned right into the 300 block of Addison Road where the officer stopped it.

The officer smelled alcohol on King’s breath and saw a clear plastic cup with what was later identified as Remi Martin liquor inside, police said. King then performed and failed all six field sobriety tests and also said she did not know how to spell her last name after she said she didn’t have a license.

She told police that she was on her way home from a night of “clubbing” before she was arrested for drunk driving, police said.

Once she was at the station, King blew a .16 on a breathalyzer, police said. She broke away from officers while she was being fingerprinted and began to kick and punch a scanning machine. When officers tried to intervene, she kicked and punched them and spat directly into one officer’s face.

“She told the officers, ‘I’m going to come back and kill your kids and grandkids,’ in addition to telling them that, ‘All cops must die,’” Riverside police Chief Weitzel said in the statement.

The officer was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood and released later that morning, police said.

Eventually, police officers from Lyons came to assist the Riverside officers, police said. A fingerprint search showed that King never had a driver’s license and had a criminal history including arrests for assault, obstruction, and traffic offenses.

“It is a shame that officers must be subjected to this demeaning rhetoric for just simply doing their job,” Weitzel said. “However, in this case, the defendant took it one step further by physically battering an officer and spitting saliva directly into his face.”

King, of the 5000 block of Washington Boulevard, was ordered held on a $50,000 bond, and is next scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.

© Copyright 2016 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Two charged with DUI after Riverside crashes 10 minutes apart

Feb 9, 2016 | WLSAM Staff
Gregorio Torres | Riverside police

(RIVERSIDE) Two men are facing drunken driving charges after a van hit a police car that was blocking traffic to investigate an earlier DUI crash early Sunday in west suburban Riverside.

Authorities were called to First Avenue and Wabaunsee Road at 4:13 a.m. after a Nissan car crashed into a tree and its driver was ejected into the forest preserve, according to a statement from Riverside police. Officers arrived to find the driver, 25-year-old Roman W. Matlak, lying on the ground “severely injured.”

About 10 minutes later, while officers were investigating that crash, a Chevrolet van driven by 37-year-old Gregorio Torres hit a North Riverside police car that was getting into position to block all southbound lanes of First Avenue at the Burlington Northern railroad overpass, police said. The van hit the rear of the squad car, causing it to spin 360 degrees, before continuing into the forest preserve and hitting a tree.

Torres and the North Riverside police officer who was in the squad car were both taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Matlak was also taken to Loyola with serious injuries.

At the hospital, Matlak told officers he was coming home from a nightclub in Chicago and had been drinking heavily throughout the night before his crash, police said. He refused to have his blood drawn, but officers could “detect the odor of alcohol still emitting from his mouth and body” while he was being treated.

Matlak, who lives in the 3400 block of North Tripp, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to reduce speed to avoid and accident, improper lane usage and driving too fast for conditions, according to police. He remained in the hospital as of Monday night.

Torres, who lives in the 7800 block of West 65th Place in Bedford Park, told investigators he had been out all night drinking after work and had “12 to 13 beers” before getting in his van to drive home, police said. He told them he saw the fully marked police car with its lights on, but that it was too late for him to stop.

He agreed to have blood and urine drawn by hospital personnel, who turned samples over to police as evidence.

Torres was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and failure to have insurance, police said. He was also cited by North Riverside police for damage to village property for “extensive” damage to the squad car.

Torres was previously arrested for DUI at the same intersection on Nov. 3, 2004, police said.

Two men and a North Riverside police officer were injured after two crashes minutes apart early Sunday in Riverside. | Riverside police
Two men and a North Riverside police officer were injured after two crashes minutes apart early Sunday in Riverside. | Riverside police
Two men and a North Riverside police officer were injured after two crashes minutes apart early Sunday in Riverside. | Riverside police
Two men and a North Riverside police officer were injured after two crashes minutes apart early Sunday in Riverside. | Riverside police

Two men and a North Riverside police officer were injured after two crashes minutes apart early Sunday in Riverside. | Riverside police
Two men and a North Riverside police officer were injured after two crashes minutes apart early Sunday in Riverside. | Riverside police

© Copyright 2016 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Tow truck driver arrested after shots fired during road rage incident

Jul 14, 2015 | WLSAM Staff
Carlos D. Cregan | Riverside police

(RIVERSIDE) A tow truck driver was arrested and police are searching for his passenger who discarded a handgun after shots were fired during a road rage incident early Sunday in west suburban Riverside.

About 3:45 a.m., officers curbed a 2000 Ford Wrecker tow truck, driven by 27-year-old Carlos D. Cregan, near First Avenue and 31st Street, according to a statement from Riverside police. The truck had suffered heavy front-end damage and the officers believed the vehicle had been involved in a crash.

While the officers were making the stop, a second tow truck pulled up and the driver told police that Cregan had been ramming his vehicle near Archer and Lavergne avenues. The driver also said that a passenger in Cregan’s vehicle had fired a handgun at him, police said. It was at this time that Cregan sped away.

Cregan’s truck, which had bullet holes in the cabin and quarter panels, was found abandoned near Maplewood Road just west of Woodside Road, police said.

Cregan was arrested a short time later when a Lyons police officer saw him walking down Woodside near Park Place and took him into custody at gunpoint, police said. He was positively identified by the driver of the second tow truck.

Cregan’s passenger, who had fired shots at the other truck, was not found, police said. The handgun was believed to have been discarded on Maplewood but, despite the assistance from the Brookfield Zoo Police Department’s Specialized K-9 Unit, was also not located.

The investigation revealed that Cregan, of the 6400 block of West 64th Place, had an active probation warrant out for his arrest in Cook County, police said.

He was ultimately charged in Riverside with violation of bail bond for the outstanding Cook County Sheriff’s probation violation warrant, police said. Chicago Police also charged him with several traffic offenses related to the hit-and-run and driving while on a suspended license.

Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel warned residents to keep an eye out for the discarded handgun.

“I encourage all our residents that live in the area of Woodside and Maplewood to make sure you talk to your children and if they should come across what looks like a handgun, to not touch it and report it either to the police or have their parents call police immediately so we can recover it and process the weapon for any evidentiary leads we may develop,” Weitzel said in the statement. “I want to stress it is also possible that the handgun was discarded somewhere along the path from Archer and Lavergne to 31st and First before both North Riverside and Riverside Police became involved in the situation.”

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Man charged with peeping in women’s windows in Riverside

Apr 28, 2015 | WLSAM Staff
Ronald J. Wortel | Riverside police
Ronald J. Wortel | Riverside police

 

(CHICAGO) A man has been charged with peeping in women’s windows and watching them get ready for bed earlier this month in west suburban Riverside.

Ronald J. Wortel, 38, has been charged with two counts of disorderly conduct under the peeping statute, a Class A misdemeanor, according to a statement from Riverside police.

About 11:30 p.m. April 9, police received a 911 call reporting someone looking into apartment windows at a building in the 100 block of East Quincy, police said. While checking the area, officers questioned Wortel, who was found one block east of the scene, but were not able to link him to the incident.

The next day, investigators asked Wortel to voluntarily come into the police department and, after an “extensive” interview, he confessed and gave a written statement that he was peeping in the apartment complex’s windows, police said.

Wortel confessed that his wife and son were out of town and, while he was returning from band practice, he decided to walk  through the neighborhood while smoking cannabis, police said.

On two separate occasions, he came up to windows and watched two women who live together, ages 30 and 84, get ready for bed while their curtains were not completely closed, police said.

He told investigators he was high and wasn’t acting rationally, police said. Officers found no cannabis on him when he was originally stopped or arrested the next day.

Wortel posted bond and has since been released, police said.

 

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

Police: Drunk driver blew five red lights in front of Riverside cop

Feb 4, 2015 |

            Erik Quiroz | photo from Riverside police

(RIVERSIDE) A Berwyn man is charged with DUI after he allegedly drove past a marked police car and through five consecutive red lights early Tuesday in west suburban Riverside.

An officer was on patrol in the 3200 block of Harlem Avenue at 3:18 a.m. when he saw a 2009 Nissan pass his police vehicle and fail to stop at five consecutive red lights, including a railroad crossing, according to a statement from Riverside police.

The officer pulled the car over and smelled alcohol from the car and on the driver’s breath, police said.

The driver, 30-year-old Erik Quiroz, failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for DUI, police said. He was also asked to do a Breathalyzer test, which showed his blood alcohol content as 0.183, more than twice the legal limit.

Quiroz, of the 2700 block of South Harvey in Berwyn, told officers he had been drinking at three separate bars and was on his way home when he was pulled over, police said. He also said he had been drinking beer while driving, and police found multiple open beer bottles in the driver’s seat.

Several passengers in the car were also intoxicated and were driven to their home in Berwyn by Riverside police.

“The fact that this defendant drove past a fully marked SUV police vehicle and blew five consecutive red lights in a row is just really indicative of how much alcohol he had in his system,” Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said in the statement. “If he had not been stopped, he could have killed himself, the passengers in his car or an innocent motorist or pedestrian on their way to their early morning job.”

Quiroz is charged with two counts of DUI, five counts of disobeying a traffic control light, driving without insurance and possession of open alcohol by a driver, police said. After he was bonded out of the Riverside Police Department, he was transported to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn for medical treatment.

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC

Police: School district employee stole iPads, laptops from Riverside school

Feb 2, 2015 |

               Lamawr Palmer / photo from Riverside police

(RIVERSIDE) A school district employee is charged with stealing more than $5,000 worth of iPads, laptops and computers from two schools in west suburban Riverside.

Lamawr Palmer, 31, was charged with one felony count of theft of school property, according to a statement from Riverside police.

On Jan. 14, someone found that an Apple iPad was missing from a room at Blythe Park School in the 300 block of Blythe Road in Riverside, police said. Investigators determined that the theft took place over the school’s holiday break, between Dec. 19 and Jan. 8.

It was then discovered that a total of eight items, including three iPads, two MacBook Pros, one Apple TV and two other Apple computers were stolen from Blythe and also Central School in Riverside, police said.

Investigators worked with District 96’s IT department to track the devices, and checked through a software program for pawnshops. They were able to locate some of the items at pawnshops in Oak Park and Chicago, and discovered they were pawned by a school district employee.

Palmer, a contract IT employee of District 96, was arrested at his home in the 4600 block of West McLean Street in Chicago on Thursday evening, police said. He had no contact with students of the schools where he worked.

Riverside Police Chief Thomas Weitzel said in the statement that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed.

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC

Cops: Man driving nearly three times speed limit charged with DUI

Jan 2, 2015 |

(RIVERSIDE) A man driving 99 mph in a 35 mph zone after leaving a New Year celebration in west suburban Riverside has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.

Miguel A. Ocampo, 20, of the 8100 block of West 30th Street in North Riverside, was charged with speeding, reckless driving, DUI, second count of DUI for the blood alcohol concentration, disobeying a traffic control light and not having vehicle insurance, according to a statement from Riverside police.

About 1 a.m. New Year’s Day, a Riverside police officer on patrol stopped a westbound 2006 Nissan four-door car near 27th Street and Des Plaines Avenue after it was seen disregarding a red light and traveling 99 mph in a 35 mph zone, police said.

When the officer, who was working the Illinois Department of Transportation DUI Enforcement Grant, approached the driver, identified as Ocampo, he noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from his mouth and breath, police said.

Ocampo admitted drinking and was on his way home from celebrating the New Year at a party in Chicago, police said. A Breathalyzer test revealed he had a .13 blood-alcohol content, while the legal driving limit is 0.08.
 
Once in custody, Ocampo told the officer that he “wanted to see how fast he could get his car to travel in the shortest distance possible,” police said.

Police said he was “extremely belligerent and wanted to fight with police during his entire processing in the booking room at the Riverside Police Department.” He also told officers he had stolen the car, but the car was found to be owned by a relative who did not want to pursue charges even though the vehicle had been taken without consent.

“It is obvious that the funds distributed to local municipalities and police departments by the state to enforce DUI laws does pay dividends,” Riverside Police Chief Thomas said in the statement. “If this individual had not been stopped, he probably would have crashed his vehicle and either killed himself or killed and harmed others who were traveling home from their jobs or other holiday parties.”

© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC

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