Community Corner

Crime-N-Shame: Creepy Guy at the White Castle Hits on Teens

The region's best cop blotter: Mischief in church, shouting man tries to videotape cops, and there's still a "wrong crowd," even if you're 56.

Today's Good Read on the Southland: Crime-N-Shame edition, features some of the region's more interesting crime reports the past few weeks.

Creepy Guy Tries to Pick Up Teens at White Castle, in Oak Lawn, Jan. 7

A physically fit man with a ponytail tried to pick up a 16-year-old boy at the Oak Lawn White Castle, at 9501 S. Cicero Ave., the evening of Jan. 7.

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Oak Lawn police were called to the restaurant where they were met by the teen and his friend. According to the victim, he and his friend were inside the restaurant when they saw a man lift up his shirt and show them his ribs. The boys told police they didn’t know the man.

The man walked over and introduced himself, then walked outside the restaurant, according to the report. While the boys were at their table, the man stared at the victim through the window and motioned with his head toward the bathroom. While the victim’s friend was refilling his drink, the man came back inside, approached the victim’s table and asked the victim if he wanted to go into the bathroom. The victim told the man he wasn’t interested. "When the victim rebuffed the man’s advances a second time, the man said, “Fine, it’s your decision, but I tip well,” according to the report.

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When the boys left the restaurant, they saw the man and ran across the street and called police. Police checked the area and a Pace bus looking for the man but couldn’t find him. Restaurant employees advised police that the man had left 10 minutes earlier.

The man is described as a white male in his early 30s with black hair and olive skin, 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds. The victim said the man was “physically fit” and wore a black trench coat, blue jeans and a black-and white fitted skull cap, and he wore his hair in a pony tail.

She's In with the 'Wrong Crowd' in Orland Park, Jan. 8

At 56, you'd think someone would be able to avoid the "wrong crowd." Or at least come up with a better excuse for the cops. But Brenda F. Clark, 56, of the 9200 block of Racine Avenue in Chicago, told police that she hid a $20 watch in her sweatshirt and left an Orland Park department store without paying. Clark later told police she knew what she did was wrong and that she was “following the wrong crowd,” according to the report.

Mischief in a Church Parking Lot in Tinley Park, Jan. 9

Is nothing sacred? A worshipper at , 7399 159th St., returned to her vehicle after evening Mass at about 7 p.m. and started to back out when she heard a strange noise, police said. Someone had removed four of the five lug nuts from all of the wheels but the one of the front right side, according to police. The wheels had almost fallen off when the woman tried to pull out, and the lug nuts were found on the ground by the car, police said.

Thieves Take Wedding Rings in Tinley Park, Jan. 7

Someone took a $3,200 flat-screen TV, a $800 watch and jewelry valued at a total $5,150 from a home on the 16700 block of 82nd Avenue, Tinley Park, between 7:30 and 11 a.m., police said. The thieves also took two wedding bands: a yellow gold band valued at $695 and a white gold band. The owners did not know the value of the white gold band, police said.

Broken Birdbath in Oak Forest, Jan. 15

Someone egged a woman's front window and knocked over her birdbath in the 4900 block of West 158th Street, a woman told police.

Fed Up, Sped Up in Oak Forest, Jan. 8

In technical terms, this is what we call "driving like a jerk." Cops call it "reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident." Michael Ryon, of the 4700 block of West 151st Street faces both charges, according to police, because he caused the driver behind him to hit his car . Ryon was being followed closely by another driver when he slowed down. The driver behind him, who told police he was following too closely, then tried to pass Ryon. Ryon sped up, swerving between lanes to prevent the other driver from passing, police said. The two reached the Oak Forest Post Office, where lanes merge. Ryon sped in front of the other driver, then braked suddenly, police said, causing the other driver to rear-end him. He then continued driving until police pulled him over. He is due in court on Jan. 27.

Heroin Overdose at Church in Palos, Jan. 7

At about 9 p.m., police responded to a possible overdose at , 8245 W. 111th Street. A man was found passed out in the bathroom with a syringe and needle nearby and was taken to Palos Community Hospital, police said. The man was staying at the South Suburban PADS shelter overnight at the church. Sacred Heart has been participating in the program for the last five years, said pastoral associate Bill Droel.

South Suburban PADS is a Chicago Heights-based nonprofit that works with local faith communities to provide services to homeless individuals throughout the south suburbs. Boie said this was an uncommon occurrence and the PADS program at Sacred Heart has not presented any previous problems.

"Incidents like this are very rare," Droel said.

What's in a Name? in New Lenox, Jan. 10

Patricio Rojas, 19, of Markham, was pulled over after New Lenox police said he ran a red light near Route 30 and Schoolhouse Road. Police say Rojas then gave them a false name but they discovered his real name after he signed it on his citation sheets. Upon searching Rojas' real name, police discovered he had a suspended license and a warrant for his arrest in connection with a failure to appear in court in Oak Forest and Markham. Rojas was issued citations for disobeying the red light and driving with a suspended license, and taken to the Will County Jail on charges of obstructing a police officer.

Official Distraction in Evergreen Park, Jan. 6

A man who tried to videotape police during a traffic stop at 84th Street and Pulaski Avenue was arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer. At 7:34 a.m., police said, Kerry Johnson, 57, of Chicago, was standing next to a car during the stop and  taking the officer's attention off of his duties by video recording the officer and yelling to get the attention of others. Johnson continued to watch the officer from the sidewalk, near the officer as the officer was talking to the traffic offender, according to police. The officer noted in his report he had seen Johnson do the same thing on two other occasions since Dec. 25.


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