River Forest Police Reports: Drug Possession, DUI, Theft

The following information is courtesy of the River Forest Police Department.

At 1:34 p.m. April 14, officers were sent to the 700 block of Keystone for a shattered window on a Chevy Trailblazer. The victim said the car was parked on the street at the time of the incident. The complainant said no items were taken from the vehicle.

At 5:14 p.m. April 14, officers were sent to 7525 W. Lake, Jewel Foods, for a retail theft in progress. The offender exited the store with $50 worth of liquor products. He was immediately located in the parking lot and taken into custody. Eric T. Nellem, 33 of Chicago, was charged with misdemeanor retail theft.

At 7:29 p.m. April 16, officers were sent to 7245 W. Lake, Whole Foods Market, for a retail theft in progress. The offender had left the store with $35 worth of food products. Carmen F. Romano, 63 of Oak Park, was charged with misdemeanor retail theft.

At 4:09 a.m. April 18, officers responded to the 7700 block of Washington for a single car crash. The car had struck a tree on the parkway. The driver, Genesis A. Balderas, 24 of Schiller Park, showed signs of intoxication. Balderas refused to submit to field sobriety tests and was taken into custody. At the station, Balderas refused to submit to a Breathalyzer test. Balderas was charged with DUI, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, no valid insurance and several traffic violations.

At 6:21 p.m. April 19, an officer conducting a business check at 7929 W. North Ave, CVS Pharmacy, saw a suspicious car in the parking lot of the store. Further investigation revealed the driver had just stolen $275 worth of over-the-counter drugs. Valerie Nash, 46 of Chicago, was taken into custody and taken to the station. Due to Nash having a February 2016 conviction for retail theft, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Felony Review Unit approved felony retail theft charges.

At 6:07 p.m. April 21, officers responded to 7245 W. Lake, Whole Foods Market, for a person who had locked himself in one of the men’s restroom stalls and was refusing to leave. Officers were able to get the person to open the door and saw he had a small straw, which resembled one used to ingest illegal narcotics. Further investigation revealed he was in possession of three small bags of heroin, weighing a total of 1 gram. Michael R. Weimer, 34 of Chicago, was taken into custody and charged with possession of a controlled substance.