Love and Brass Knuckles: Weird Crimes

What You Leave Behind

Oct. 12: A Chicago woman suspected in a shoplifting incident in May was picked up earlier this month thanks to a purse left behind at the scene.

British J. Fort-Davis, 23, of the 800 block of East 48th Street, was charged with retail theft, according to an Evergreen Park police report.

Authorities were able to identity Fort-Davis when she allegedly dropped her purse in the store, police said.

The theft happened at about 11:26 a.m. on May 21, the report states. Three dresses, worth $52 total, were taken.

Officers who found the purse pulled an identification card from it and issued an arrest warrant, the report states. Fort-Davis was arrested on the warrant at about 10:45 a.m. on Oct. 12.

Read more on Evergreen Park Patch

Love and Brass Knuckles

Oct. 19: An Oak Forest man suffering a broken heart faces a weapon charge after trying to pierce a neighbor’s truck tires.  

Victor M. Vela, 23, of the 4600 block of Oakridge Avenue, was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, according to an Oak Forest police report.

Police arrived at about 7 a.m. to the 4600 block of Oakridge Avenue and found one man lying on top of another man who was holding a knife, the report states. An officer handcuffed the armed man, Vela, while they determined what happened.

Vela told police that the knife, which had a blade extending from chrome-colored brass knuckles, belonged to him and that he was using it to deflate tires, the report states. He also allegedly had an odor of alcohol on his breath when he spoke with police.

According to the report, Vela used to date the current girlfriend of the victim and did not like him because of the relationship.

The victim tackled Vela after spotting him walking toward the truck.

Vela received the weapon charge because of the brass knuckles, the report states.

Police set bond at $1,500 and issued him a court date of Nov. 8 in Bridgeview Courthouse.

Read more on Oak Forest Patch

Hunger Pains

Oct. 11: A Chicago Heights man with a taste for steak and thumb is accused stealing of stealing from a grocery store.

Police say the owner was watching Chicago Heights Fresh Market’s surveillance camera feed just before 2:30 p.m. when he saw 40-year-old Richard Ramirez slip a skirt steak and two bottles of Coke under his shirt.

When the owner and another store employee confronted Ramirez, he tried to make a break for it. The two men were able to restrain him, but not without sustaining some damage. Police say Ramirez managed to deliver two bites to his captors: one to the owner's left thumb and another to the wrist of the employee. Neither turned out to be serious wounds and both men refused medical treatment, according to reports.

Both victims of the attack signed battery complaints against Ramirez, and the owner signed an additional theft complaint.

Ramirez is due in court on Nov. 14.

Read more on Chicago Heights Patch

Smoke and Vapors

Oct. 17: A Tinley Park man told police outside a tobacco store that he had plans to smoke something stronger in his Mustang.

Richard E. Janes, 34, of the 8500 block of Cherry Creek Drive, was charged with possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to a Tinley Park police report.

Cops on patrol at about at about 5:40 p.m. in the parking lot for 1st Stop Tobacco, 8021 183rd St., noticed a red Ford Mustang parked in front of the business, the report states. The car was half in the handicap stall and did not have a visible placard. Janes was hunched over inside the car and, after about five minutes, went into the store.

An officer spoke with Janes when he came back out, the report states. When asked what he was doing inside the Mustang, Janes become "extremely nervous" and his hands started shaking. He claimed he was buying cigarettes for his mother.

After some brief questioning, Janes admitted to trying to use a vaporizer to smoke weed, the report states. He told police he had a "few grams" of marijuana in his vehicle.

A search of the Mustang turned up two grams of a substance that tested positive for marijuana, a glass pipe and packages of rolling papers, the report states.

Janes is due on Nov. 21 in Bridgeview court.

Read more on Tinley Park Patch

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Police report information is provided by local police departments. 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 notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.

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