Blotter: Fake Checks, Kicking off 2012 With a DUI 'in a Suburb of Indiana' and More

TUESDAY, JAN. 24

Fake Checks 

Police completed a late report around 8 a.m. regarding a complaint filed by Menards, 6851 159th St. in . A store manager said Tuesday that on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30, two people visited the store — they were together and went there on both days — and wrote two fraudulent checks in exchange for merchandise.

The first check was for $836.74 and the second was for $983.01. The store received notification on Jan. 3 that the checks were fake. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage of the incident and are investigating. No charges had yet been filed as of Wednesday.  

MONDAY, JAN. 16

Burglar Snags Change

A woman said that sometime between 3 p.m. Jan. 15 and 10:30 a.m. Jan. 16, someone broke into her 2006 Chevy Trailblazer, which was parked in the 7500 block of 160th Street in Tinley Park. The burglar stole a cup holder filled with change and two pieces of jewelry valued at a total of about $20. Police said it looked like the person also tried to steal the stereo. 

Identity Fraud at St. James

A 50-year-old Tinley Park man told police he got several bills from  claiming he received medical treatment Nov. 15, 2011. The man said he did not receive treatment, adding when he spoke to hospital staff about the bills and was told they had a different date of birth on record for him, according to the report. The man was also told his social security number was not on file at the hospital, according to the report. Police are following up with the billing department at St. James. 

SUNDAY, JAN. 1

Kicking off 2012 With a DUI "in a Suburb of Indiana"

The cops stopped a driver around 3:15 a.m., when they said she was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of traffic in the 6900 block of 159th Street in Tinley Park. 

They pulled over Jemamah A. Owusu, who told them she was lost, later explaining that she was driving on the wrong side of the road "because she thought she was in a suburb in Indiana," according to the police report.

Officers said they found a half-empty bottle of Patron in the back seat of  Owusu's vehicle, which she reportedly drove up onto a curb in a parking lot on 159th while being pulled over. She failed field sobriety tests and was placed under arrest, according to the report. During a search of her vehicle, police found three small bags of marijuana, they said. 

At the station, Owusu wasn't able to conquer the Breathalyzer, police said, and with each attempt, she sucked air instead of blew it out.  

She was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of marijuana, driving in the wrong lane of traffic, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and illegal transportation of alcohol. 

Police report information is provided by the  and other law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to  We will verify and report the outcome. 

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