Driver charged with DUI after bicyclist fatally struck

Police have charged a Riverside man they say was driving under the influence when he fatally struck a bicyclist on the West Side late Friday.
Robert Vais, 54, was charged with one felony count of aggravated DUI and two misdemeanor counts of DUI. Vais was also issued a traffic citation for failing to reduce his speed.
Police believe he was driving under the influence when he struck Hector Avalos, 28, in the 2500 block of West Ogden Boulevard about 11:50 p.m. on Friday.
Avalos was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital shortly after.

Man arrested after taxi driver loses eye in road rage attack

A cab driver who was blinded in one eye during an October road rage incident had the presence of mind to write down his assailant’s license plate number and take a picture of the fleeing car, prosecutors said, leading to the arrest of an Oak Park man on Friday.
Terrell S. Brown, 36, was ordered held on $200,000 bail Saturday after a routine traffic stop revealed that he was wanted for the West Side attack on the taxi driver.
On Oct. 20, prosecutors allege, Brown and the cabbie were involved in a minor accident in the 300 block of South Western Avenue in the Near West Side neighborhood. Brown offered the cab driver money to leave the scene without filing a report, prosecutors said. When the cabbie demurred, Brown allegedly struck him in the face with an unknown object and fled.
The attack left the taxi driver blind in his left eye.
By using the license plate number the cab driver had written down and a picture he took of the car, police issued an investigative alert. When an officer pulled Brown over Friday evening for driving without headlights, the alert led police to tie him to the road rage attack.
Brown, of the 100 block of North Cuyler Avenue in Oak Park, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and accused of driving on a suspended license and not using headlights. He was also held on a warrant for driving on a suspended license.

22-year-old man shot in Near Westside

A 22-year-old man shot in the 2700 block of West Monroe Street on the Near West Side about 5:20 p.m. The man was standing outside when an armed assailant approached on foot and opened fire, striking him in the chest.
The 22-year-old fled in a vehicle and came to rest in the 3000 block of West Madison Street. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and listed in good condition.

Off duty Officer kills man on Near West Side

An off-duty Chicago police officer fatally shot a man on the Near West Side this morning .
The incident happened at 6:45 a.m. at a Chicago Housing Authority building in the 1800 block of West Monroe Street.
The male officer was off-duty and working a part time job when he saw an armed female civilian security guard in a physical altercation with a male offender attempting to gain access to the property.
The officer, in fear for his safety and the safety of the security guard, discharged his weapon striking the offender, who died.  Sullivan said he was in the chest.
The man was identified as Marion Horton, 28, of the 400 block of West Division Street. He was pronounced dead at 7:12 a.m. at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 spokesman Patrick Camden said the incident started about 6:30 a.m. when the off-duty officer was seated at the front desk of the 7-story building as his partner, an armed female security guard who works for a private company, was outside doing a check of the parking lot. When she came across a man in the lobby, she told him to leave but he refused.
“He’s very combative and she’s struggling with him,’’  said Camden of the man in the lobby. “So the officer at the desk sees this and goes out to help her’’ .
The man finally left and went out into the parking lot area but began urinating on a truck parked in front of the doors. The off-duty officer told him again to leave and “go about your business’’  but he demanded: “What are you going to do about it?”
Camden said the off-duty officer told him: “I’m a  Chicago police officer -- just go away.’’ Replying; “ I 'aint going nowhere,’’ he began fighting again and the officer realized he was going to need to arrest him.
As he began positioning himself to place handcuffs on the man, the brawl escalated with all three as the man, who was about 200 pounds and 5-foot-10 or 11, pulled the off-duty officer to the ground and ripped out about a dozen of the woman’s braids.
“At this point the officer is concerned that this guy is going to get the woman’s gun so he pulled out his weapon and tells him he’s under arrest,’’ Camden said.  When the man lunged at him, he fired a shot and hit him in the chest, Camden said.
“This is no pushing and shoving fight. This is fighting to the point of exhaustion,’’ Camden said.
Camden said the two security officers suffered bruises and head injuries from her hair being pulled out.

Naked man tasered outside North Coast Music Festival

Chicago police tasered a naked man who jumped atop a Mercedes Benz and planted his buttocks through its windshield outside the North Coast Music Festival on Saturday night.
The 22-year-old from Massachusetts was intoxicated or high on a hallucinogenic drug at the time.
Two people called 911 from Ogden Avenue near Randolph Street about 8:10 p.m. - one to report a naked man who broke a windshield, and the other to report a naked man jumping on top of cars.
Officers arrived to find the man without clothing, sitting in a puddle on the ground. He was acting erratically and did not comply with commands.
After breaking the windshield and getting tasered, he was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital for observation and to get shards of glass removed from his buttocks.
Charges of criminal damage to property are pending against the man.

Shootings in Chicago July 22, 2013

20-year-old man shot in Englewood

In the shooting, about 3:30 a.m. a 20-year-old man was shot in the arm in in the 7400 block of South Princeton Avenue. The man told police he was walking when he heard shots and felt pain.
He was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hosptial of Cook County, where his condition was stabilized.

17-year-old boy  shot Washington Park

A 17-year-old boy was shot and critically wounded in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood this morning.
The teen, shot in the 6300 block of South King Drive about 7:10 a.m
The boy was standing on the street when a man or boy came up and shot at him, striking the boy in the neck. The attacker then fled on foot.
The boy was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where he was in critical condition

23-year-old man  shot in Englewood

At about 10:30 a.m., a 23-year-old man was shot in the leg in the 6100 block of South May Street in the Englewood neighborhood
The man was walking on the street when a man or boy came up to him and fired a gun at him, hitting him in the left leg. The man was taken to St. Bernard Hospital and Healthcare Center, where he was in good condition.

17-year-old boy shot in Washington Park

A 17-year-old boy was shot and critically wounded in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood this morning.
The teen, shot in the 6300 block of South King Drive about 7:10 a.m.
The boy was standing on the street when a man or boy came up and shot at him, striking the boy in the neck. The attacker then fled on foot.
The boy was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where he was in critical condition

23-year-old man shot in Englewood

At about 10:30 a.m., a 23-year-old man was shot in the leg in the 6100 block of South May Street in the Englewood neighborhood.
The man was walking on the street when a man or boy came up to him and fired a gun at him, hitting him in the left leg. The man was taken to St. Bernard Hospital and Healthcare Center, where he was in good condition.

43-year-old man shot in Marquette Park

A 43-year-old man was shot and critically injured during an argument on the Southwest Side late Monday night.
About 11:40 p.m., someone took out a gun and opened fire during a verbal altercation in the 6300 block of South Rockwell Street.
A 43-year-old man was struck in the right side of the back and taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center .
The shooting happened in the Marquette Park neighborhood.

16-year-old boy and man shot in Near West Side

In a shooting in the Near West Side neighborhood, two people were hurt when someone in a vehicle opened fire on a group of people standing on the sidewalk about 11:15 p.m.
A 16-year-old boy was struck in the heel, and a 47-year-old man was shot in both ankles. Both were taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where their conditions were stabilized.

Shootings in Chicago July 10- 11, 2013

 52-year-old woman shot in South Shore

In a  shooting in the South Shore neighborhood about 5:25 p.m., someone shot the 52-year-old woman in the arm in the 2700 block of East 79th Street.
The woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition

26-year-old man shot in Englewood

A 26-year-old man was shot in the shoulder at 3:55 p.m. in the 6900 block of South Sangamon Street

44-year-old man shot on Near West Side

The shooting happened in the 1000 block of West Van Buren Street about 1:50 a.m. Someone fired into a 44-year-old man's eastbound car five times and hit the driver in the abdomen and arm. 
The man's car crashed into a building at the corner of Aberdeen and Van Buren streets after the shooting. He was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital  and taken into surgery just before 3 a.m.
The shooter fired from inside a dark sedan and the attack may have been prompted by an earlier argument in a nearby restaurant

21-year-old man shot in Woodlawn

A 21-year-old man walked into Jackson Park Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left foot and another to his right calf about 7:15 p.m. He told police he was shot in the 6200 block of South Eberhart Avenue

19-year-old man shot in South Chicago

About 9:30 p.m. a 19-year-old man was shot in the buttocks, legs and abdomen. Someone shot him in a parking lot in the 1800 block of East 79th Street, police said. He was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

Cops warn of delivery driver robberies on Near West Side

Chicago police are warning Near West Side residents and delivery drivers about several robberies in recent weeks.
All the robberies have taken place since June 28 in the Near West Police District, with the most recent on Wednesday. Some of the robberies have been carried out by two men working together, some by one, but all may be part of the same pattern.
The robbers have gone up to victims, battered them and taken items such as cash, wallets or cell phones. In one robbery, one of the men showed a gun.
The most recent robbery, in the 2100 block of West Adams Street about 12:45 a.m. on Wednesday, was carried out by two men. They were described as a black man in his 20s, standing about 5-foot-7 and weighing about 120 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair in dreadlocks and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, and a black man about the same age, with brown eyes and black hair in dreadlocks, standing about 6 feet tall and weighing about 150 pounds and wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt.
The other robberies took place:

• June 28 about 8:36 a.m. in the 100 block of South Leavitt Street;
• June 28 about 3 p.m. in the 100 block of North Carpenter Street;
• Tuesday about 1:25 a.m. in the 2200 block of West Jackson Boulevard.

34-year old man shot on Near West side

 On the West Side, a 34-year old man was grazed in the shoulder in the 300 block of South Western Avenue.
The shooting happened about 10:30 p.m. in the Near West Side neighborhood.
The bullet did not penetrate the man's skin, and he was treated and released from John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County

Man shot and robbed near city 911 center

24-year-old man struggled with a robber before getting shot in the leg a block from the city's 911 call center just before midnight Wednesday.
The robbery happened about 11:55 P.M. in the 1500 block of West Madison Street, about a block away from the Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
Someone approached the man from behind and demanded his wallet. The 24-year-old tried to fight off the attacker but was shot in the process.
He was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County with a gunshot wound to the thigh.

Woman killed in West Side crash

Police suspect a 33-year-old man was under the influence of alcohol when his car hit a viaduct on Western Avenue, split in half and left his girlfriend dead Saturday morning on the Near West Side.
The 26-year-old woman riding in the front passenger seat died in the wreck, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Chantelle Jones, of the 1200 block of South 56th Court in Cicero, was pronounced dead at 5:34 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Charges haven't yet been filed but police say alcohol played a role in the crash.
The) driver was treated and released, he sustained cuts and bruises."
The Saturn the pair were traveling in was southbound in the 1600 block of South Western Avenue when the driver lost control, hit a viaduct and the car flipped and split in half about 2:15 a.m. The woman was found outside the car

Woman dies in single-car crash on Near West Side

A 30-year-old woman died after her car crashed into a concrete median near the United Center.
Her car hit the concrete median in the 2000 block of West Madison Street, just west of Damen Avenue.
The crash happened at 12:25 a.m. and she was pronounced dead a half hour later at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County
A spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office identified her as Shawna Daro, of the 200 block of West Miner Street in Arlington Heights.
She was the only person in the car, a 2002 Toyota Scion

Group of males robbing on Near West Side

Chicago police issued a community alert today advising people on the Near West Side to be aware of a group of males conducting robberies that had taken place over the weekend.
Both robberies happened on Jan. 12, when the victims were approached by four males who took their property by force.
The first incident happened on the 2200 block of West Monroe Street at about 3:30 p.m.. The second incident happened several hours later at 7:10 p.m. on the 400 block of South Racine Avenue.
While police said the descriptions of the offenders vary, they were generally described as four black males between the ages of 16 and 20 years of age. They were also between 5 feet 4 inches and 6 feet tall and between 150 and 175 pounds. Police said one of the men had hazel eyes and dreadlocks

Man visiting Chicago from Korea shot while walking dog, Ninjas suspected

A 62-year-old man visiting Chicago from Korea and walking a dog on the West Side suffered a graze wound to the head in a shooting today.
The man was walking near Ashland Avenue and Warren Boulevard about 9:45 a.m. when he heard a gunshot and hit the ground to avoid being hurt. A visitor from South Korea, the man was walking his dog near or in Union Park when he was shot.
The man suffered a graze wound to the head and went to Rush University Medical Center, said News Affairs Officer Robert Perez. The man told police he did not see his attacker or know where the shot came from, leading Police to suspect  that Ninjas were involved in the attack. Police refused to stated if they believed they were white or black Ninjas.

3 shot on Near West Side

Three people, including a 15-year-old boy, were shot on the Near West Side this evening, but all suffered what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.
The shootings took place in the 200 block of South Western Avenue, near a liquor store, about 5:30 p.m..
The boy, who was shot in the chest, and two other victims, both men, were all taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, but all had been stabilized by about 8 p.m.. One of the victims, age 48, was taken to the hospital but declined further treatment and was released.
Among those shot was a man in his 40s, shot in the right arm, and a second victim who was shot in the buttocks

Police warn of Near West Side burglaries

Police issued a community alert this afternoon warning of a series of burglaries on the city's Near West Side.
The burglaries have occurred in the Monroe police district, specifically in the areas of Madison Street to Washington Boulevard and from Racine Avenue to Aberdeen Street.
The burglaries happened on Nov. 6 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., police said. No one was at the homes when the burglaries occurred

UIC student robbed at gunpoint

A University of Illinois at Chicago student was robbed at gunpoint yesterday off campus in the Near West Side community, according to the university.
The woman was walking in the 500 block of South Oakley Boulevard about 9:18 p.m. Thursday when she was confronted by the robber, who showed her a blue handgun and demanded her cell phone and messenger bag.
The student complied and the robber fled north. She was not hurt and her bag was recovered later by police on Van Buren Street.
The robber was described as being a black man between the ages of 20 and 25, 5-foot-9, with a dark complexion and short black hair. He was wearing a black T-shirt and black shorts.

Man charged with 3 sex assaults on Near West Side

DNA evidence has linked a 20-year-old West Garfield Park man to three sex assaults on the Near West Side.
Chicago police say Tyreese Richardson attacked the women between July 27 and Aug. 5 in the 2700 blocks of Jackson Boulevard and Adams Street.
In the attacks a man wearing a rag or mask would enter the victims' homes and assault them at knife point.
DNA evidence led Area North detectives to Richardson who, according to court records, has two felony convictions, including one for residential burglary.
Richardson, of the 3200 block of West Fulton Boulevard, was arrested and charged on Monday with three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and two counts of home invasion

Group Gorilla Warfare Occurs Near United Center- 2 shot

Two people were wounded as two groups of people shot at each other just west of the United Center late Friday night.
One group of people was walking south of Washington Boulevard on Damen Avenue, on the west side of the street, and yelling at a group of people on the northwest corner of the same intersection.
Someone from the group south of Washington started shooting and the group on the other side of the street scattered north.
When police arrived, they found a 25-year-old woman on the west side of the street with a gunshot wound to the leg. A man, 23, was also shot in the leg.
Someone from the group north of Washington Boulevard returned fire but didn't hit anybody, and police recovered casings on the east side of Damen Avenue from that group.

Man found stabbed to death on Near West Side

In the Near West Side neighborhood at about 10:33 a.m., a person walking near the 200 block of South Rockwell Avenue called police after they found the body of a man who appeared to be in his 30s.
The body was found in grassy area near railroad tracks, said Perez. The man appeared to have been bleeding from his chest area. The victim may have been stabbed, according to a medical examiner's office