Man Accused Of Theft, Hit-And-Run, Slashing Tires In Separate Arrests

TINLEY PARK, IL — A 59-year-old Oak Forest man was arrested in Tinley Park and Oak Forest in the month of March after being accused of hitting another car and slashing his neighbor's car tires.

Police said Garth Whalen rear-ended another car in Tinley Park on March 2 near 171st Street and Harlem Avenue. After hitting the car, officers said Whalen drove away from the scene and didn't report the crash. He was later charged with leaving the scene of an accident, driving on a revoked license and driving without insurance.

One week later on March 9, Whalen was arrested in Tinley Park after police said he stole car keys from a Mokena dealership, bought a car from the same site and then crashed it in Tinley Park later that day.

Finally, on March 17, Whalen was arrested in Oak Forest near the 15800 block of Terrace Drive after a person told police he saw Whalen flatten three tires on his neighbor's car. Whalen is facing charges of criminal damage to property following the incident.

According to court records, Whalen was arrested in 2015 when police said he took a stranger's boat for a joy-ride through Chicago's Burnham Harbor, crashing into five other boats in the process. Whalen was charged with burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, operating a boat under the influence of alcohol and five counts of criminal damage to property in connection to the event.