Crime & Safety

South Suburban DUI Arrests, Sept. 22

Always have a designated driver? The people in this week's roundup of DUI reports should have used one.

Sept. 13: A traffic stop for a burnt out rear plate light led to charges for a Chicago Heights drunken driver who had magic mushrooms in his car.

Thomas Gardner, 25, of the 200 block of Sherry Lane, Chicago Heights, was charged with driving under the influence, DUI with a blood-alcohol level greater than 0.08, possessing a controlled substance, possessing marijuana, possessing drug paraphernalia and driving without a rear registration plate light, Homewood police said.

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Gardner is accused of driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit while carrying baggies of psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana, police said. Police stopped Gardner at about 1:19 a.m. in the 19100 block of Center Avenue for the traffic violation, according to a Homewood police report. A cop could smell an odor of alcohol on the driver's breath. Police said Gardner failed three tests for intoxication and was arrested.

Officers searched Gardner's car and found one baggie with dried brown and white mushrooms and a second baggie with a green, leafy substance. They also recovered a glass pipe, grinder and fireworks in the car's trunk. The mushrooms tested positive for the presence of psilocybin, a hallucinogen. A test of the leafy substance showed the presence of marijuana.

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Gardner was transported to Markham court for a bond hearing.

PALOS HEIGHTS

Sept. 8: A Sauk Village woman who made a wrong turn was accused of driving under the influence, police said.

Diane L. Barr, 65, of the 21800 block of Peterson Avenue, was charged with driving under the influence and making an illegal U-turn, according to a Palos Heights police report. Police stopped Barr's vehicle at about 9:37 p.m. in the 12400 block of South Ridgeland Avenue, the report states.

Barr made an illegal U-turn and caught the attention of a Palos Heights officer, the report states. During the stop, she reportedly showed signs of being intoxicated and failed sobriety tests. Bail was set at $3,000. Bar is due on Oct. 22 in Bridgeview court.

Sept. 7: A 33-year-old Burbank driver was accused of drunken driving when police stopped her for a lane violation.

Janine M. Lewis, of the 6100 block of West 79th Street, was charged with driving under they influence, driving without insurance and improper lane use, according to a Palos Heights police report. Lewis was stopped at about 12:12 a.m., the report states. Cops spotted her make a lane violation.

Police said Lewis showed signs of alcohol impairment and failed field sobriety tests.Bail was set at $3,000. Lewis is due on Oct. 11 in Bridgeview court.

OAK FOREST

Sept. 17: A Willowbrook woman who drove her SUV with the hazard lights on faces drunken driving charges, police said.

Julia Sluzarz, 34, of the 16W00 block of Mockingbird, was charged with driving under the influence, DUI with a blood-alcohol level greater than 0.08 and disobeying a traffic control device, according to an Oak Forest Park police report.

Oak Forest police pulled over a white SUV that had switched on its hazard lights while driving at about 2:04 a.m., the report states. It had swerved in the road, and hit a concrete curb, before coming to a stop near the intersection of 147th Street and Cicero Avenue.

An officer could smell an odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle, the report states. Police described the driver, Sluzarz, as talkative and polite. She reportedly mumbled and slurred her speech.

Police arrested Sluzarz after she took tests for intoxication, the report states. While in police custody, she took a breath test and scored a BAL of 0.193.


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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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