Police Reports

The Elmhurst Police Department recently reported the following arrests and citations. Persons charged with domestic battery are not named in order to protect the privacy of victims. Readers are reminded that an arrest does not constitute a conviction, and that subjects are considered innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. Juveniles age 17-or-younger are not named.

Criminal trespass to property, criminal damage to property, criminal defacement

Nov. 24

Joseph Cascella Jr., 25, of Elmhurst, was charged with criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct in the 600 block of W. Crockett at around 7:13 p.m. Police said a reporting officer met with a complainant who stated that Cascella Jr. threw an item, causing it to break into pieces.

Nov. 21

A complainant in the 100 block of Prospect told police at around 2:48 a.m. that an unknown suspect threw a piece of broken asphalt through the bedroom window. Officers checked the area but were unable to locate a suspect.

Domestic battery, domestic incident, disorderly conduct, damage to property, disturbance

Nov. 22

Police said officers responded to the 300 block of E. Crescent at around 4:53 p.m. for a report of a group of juveniles fighting. A complainant told police that he attempted to break up a fight among a group of juveniles. The juveniles fled the scene, last seen going northbound.

Nov. 20

Ryszard M. Witek, 66, of Des Plaines, was issued a citation for disorderly conduct in the 400 block of W. Lake at around 4:37 p.m. Police said a reporting officer observed Witek urinating between two vehicles.

DUI, DUI drugs

Nov. 22

Deandre Collins, 26, of Chicago, was charged with DUI, illegal transportation of alcohol, one headlight, no rear registration plate light and no insurance subsequent to a traffic stop near Argyle and Eggleston at around 11;27 p.m. Ruby Munoz, 30, of Chicago, a passenger in the vehicle, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Oswaldo Estrada-Muniz, 23, of West Chicago, was charged with transportation of open alcohol, driving while license suspended, tinted windows and no insurance subsequent to a traffic stop near Route 83 and W. Lake at around 11:48 a.m.

Daniel Garcia-Alvarado, 28, of Berkeley, was charged DUI, failure to give aid or information in an accident involving personal injury, unlawful possession of cannabis, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and no insurance near Route 83 and W. North at around 5:03 a.m.

Nov. 21

Veronica P. Rathbun, 75, of Elmhurst, was charged with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and no insurance subsequent to a report of a single vehicle crash in the 1000 block of S.  Prospect at around 5:29 p.m.

Peter N. Swanson, 52, of Elmhurst, was charged with DUI and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident subsequent to a traffic crash near Route 83 and St. Charles at around 3:34 a.m.

Nov. 20

Mario A. Carlini, 20, of Port Charlotte, Fla., was charged with DUI-drugs, unlawful possession of cannabis by the driver, improper lane usage and no insurance subsequent to a traffic stop near St. Charles and Villa at around 12:57 a.m.

Harassment, threats

Nov. 24

A complainant in the 600 block of S. Poplar told police at around 11:56 a.m. that she received an alarming text message. The complainant doesn’t know who the text message came from, but stated it included names of her family members. The victim will sign complaints if the suspect is located.

Nov. 23

A victim in the 100 block of N. Glenview told police at around 12;53 p.m. that he received a threatening phone call from a suspect, accusing him of stealing his ex-wife’s identity. The reporting officer attempted to make contact with the suspect but was unable to reach him. This case is pending investigation. 

Possession of cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance

Nov.  24

Police said that subsequent to a traffic stop in the 500 block of E. Lake at around 8:06 p.m., Angelo Pacheo, 22, of Berwyn; John Thurman, 41, of Chicago; and Andrew Gonzales, 32, of Warrenville, were found to be in possession of a controlled substance. Gonzales was charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, no seat belt, no insurance and two counts of felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Pacheo and Thurman were charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance.

Nov. 23

Anna M. Dziura, 35, of Countryside, was charged with retail theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Anthony Arnone, 34, of LaGrange, was charged with felony retail theft, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving while license suspended. Police said Richard J. Mansfield, 32, of Berwyn, was found to have a warrant out of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office. Mansfield also was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and retail theft, and was processed on the warrant. Police said officers responded to a local store in the 100 block of E. Schiller at around 2:02 p.m. for the report of a retail theft. The vehicle, containing the three suspects, fled the scene but was later located, according to police. Police said the suspects were found to be in possession of stolen merchandise, heroin, cocaine and various forms of drug paraphernalia.

Matthew Leduc, 22, of Franklin Park, was issued a citation for unlawful possession of cannabis by the driver subsequent to a traffic stop near N. Berteau and E. North at around 10:58 p.m.

Nov. 21

Dondrell C. Halmon, 26, of Chicago, a passenger in a vehicle, was issued a citation for possession of cannabis in a vehicle near W. North and N. Maple at around 12:29 a.m.

Nov. 20

Thatric Woodson, 32, of Chicago, and Julius R. Sharkey, 33, of Coralville, Iowa, both passengers in a vehicle, were each cited for illegal transportation of alcohol and unlawful possession of cannabis in a vehicle near Route 83 and Roosevelt at around 11:25 p.m. Amber C. Black, 24, of Chicago, was found to be in possession of open alcohol and had a warrant out of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, according to police. Black was issued a citation for possession of open alcohol.   

Police said that subsequent to a traffic stop near York and Belden at around 8:54 p.m., a reporting officer detected a strong odor of cannabis emitting from a vehicle. The officer’s canine partner was deployed and conveyed a positive alert. A search of the vehicle yielded a Ziploc bag containing 33 grams of suspected cannabis and a locked safe. Subsequent to a search warrant, the safe was found to contain 12 grams of Psilocybin mushrooms. Charges are pending.

Nov. 19

James W. Huff, 32, of Itasca, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, aggravated DUI-drugs, driving while license revoked and no insurance subsequent to officers responding to a report of a suspicious person who was punching the side of a parked vehicle in the 600 block of Michigan at around 5:50 p.m. Police said that upon arrival, Huff was located slumped over the steering wheel and stated he ran out of gas. According to police, a search of Huff’s vehicle yielded four capsules containing heroin.

Suspicious circumstances

Nov. 24

A complainant in the 200 block of E. Grantley told police at around 10:29 a.m. that she was alerted to noise and observed an unknown suspect inside of her unlocked screened-in porch. Doors leading into her home were locked, and the suspect did not enter the home. She observed the suspect run northbound from the location. This case is pending investigation. 

Theft/burglary/attempted theft or burglary/identity theft/fraud/forgery/deceptive practice/obstruction/robbery

Nov. 24

Identity theft was reported in the 100 block of E. Schiller at around 7:01 p.m. A complainant told police that an unknown suspect used his credit card information to complete several fraudulent transactions. The complainant noticed these transactions after he used an ATM at a truck stop in Northlake. This case is pending investigation.

Nov. 20

Identity theft was reported in the 400 block of N. York at around 12:39 p.m. A victim told police that she received a bill from the U.S. Small Business Administration for a loan. The victim related that an unknown suspect(s) used her personal information to apply for the loan.

Nov. 18-Nov. 19

Theft of vehicle parts was reported in the 100 block of E. Park. A victim told police that an unknown suspect(s) stole a catalytic converter from her vehicle while it was parked outside her place of employment sometime between the above dates.

Nov. 18

Identity theft was reported in the 100 block of Haven at around 1:26 p.m. A victim told police that an unknown suspect used her personal information to apply for a loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Sept. 25

Deceptive practice was reported in the 600 block of Willow at around 12:54 p.m. A victim told police that he purchased a watch through an online forum and wired money to an unknown suspect’s bank account. The victim never received the watch and the forum closed the victim’s account after he reported the incident.

Unemployment benefits identity theft

Oct. 21-Nov. 24

Between the above dates, the Elmhurst Police Department reported 14 incidents of identity theft with the intention of using a victim’s personal information to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits through the Illinois Department of Employment Security.