Crime & Safety

Tinley Man Causes 12 Blocks of Trouble Along Rt. 30

Joshua West, 21, scuffled with Frankfort Police officers when they tried to arrest him for knocking over construction barricades on U.S. Route 30, causing more than $500 of damage.

A Tinley Park man's 12-block vandalism spree along U.S. Route 30 on Dec. 31 ended with a brief tussle with police and charges of damaging government property and obstruction of justice, according to reports.

Joshua T. West, 21, of the 8000 block of Nielsen Drive in Tinley, was arrested for resisting a police officer, obstruction of justice and two counts of damaging government property. He was booked in to the Will County Jail and released on bond.

Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Officers approached West around the 9800 block of Lincoln Highway, near Philips Chevrolet, after a woman told them she saw West knocking over construction barricades, said Cmdr. Kevin Keegan. West, however, denied doing that, claiming "hooligans" were responsible, even after the woman identified him, Keegan said.

Concerned that cars might go off the road, the officers asked West to pick up the barricades, and he refused, Keegan said. West and the officers continued their back and forth, with West's responses becoming more random and incoherent as he claimed he was homeless and that he slept with owls, Keegan added.

Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

READ: Take a Look at Some of the New Laws of 2012

Finally, the officers told West if he didn't put back the barricades, he would be arrested, Keegan said. West refused, and the officers tried to take him into custody, which led to some scuffling, resulting in West being forced over the police cruiser's front fender, the zipper of West's hoodie sweatshirt scratching the car, Keegan said. West, trapped in an armbar hold, eventually relented and put his hands behind his back when officers threatened to Tase him, he added.

West was responsible for knocking over barricades along Route 30 from 108th Avenue to Elm Street, Keegan said. The supervisor for the construction along Route 30 initially estimated the cost of putting back all the barricades to be $500, Keegan said. But, Keegan added, that amount is expected to increase significantly after the supervisor discovered that the lights on some of the barricades were damaged and would need to be replaced.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.