Woman honored for aid in domestic incident

by BRIAN NADIG

The 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District recently presented a citizen’s appreciation award to a 35-year-old woman who helped a woman who was being choked and dragged out of her car by a man during a domestic-related incident near Higgins and Nagle avenues.

"She saw what was happening and confronted the man" district commander William Looney said of the good Samaritan. The woman, who asked that her name not be released, was honored at the Oct. 19 meeting of the 16th District Advisory Committee.

After being confronted, the man dropped his hold on the woman and fled, according to police. The man reportedly was grabbing the woman’s hair as he attempted to place her in another vehicle, police said.

Meanwhile, a shooting on Oct. 16 in the 5000 block of West Roscoe Street occurred moments after police had concluded an outdoor roll call three blocks away on West Patterson Avenue. The roll call was in response to an Oct. 2 incident in which a man shot at three parked cars near Saint Bartholomew Church, 4949 W. Patterson Ave.

A 30-year-old man reported that he exited his parked vehicle when two men shouted at him to get down and that one of the men fired a gun at a black Cadillac sport utility vehicle down the block while yelling gang slogans, according to police.

Another 30-year-old man reported that he was in his home and heard four to five gunshots, and a minute later heard eight to 10 more shots, police said.

In the incident on Roscoe, a suspected gang member was shot four times while riding his bicycle in an alley. The shooter was not apprehended, and the man was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital for gunshot wounds to the leg, torso and buttock.

It also was reported that an unusually high number of pre-2008 Dodge Caravans have been stolen in recent weeks in the district. Overall the number of reported vehicle thefts through Oct. 15 was 354 compared to 336 during the same period last year, Looney said.

Also, the city has obtained a court order requiring the last tenant in a 2 1/2 apartment building in the 4800 block of West Argyle Street to vacate the premises by Tuesday, Nov. 7, Looney said. There have been reports of drugs, guns and prostitution associated with the building, which is on the city’s "drug and gang house" list.

The order allows for the owner and her son to live there, Looney said. A man was shot outside the building earlier this year.

Also at the meeting, the committee presented several "Officer of the Month" awards. Officers Michael Laurie and Mike Gremo were honored for their Aug. 25 arrest of two suspects after a loaded handgun was found in their car, and officers Eric Bellomy and Nicholas Redelsperger were honored for their Aug. 11 arrest of two suspects after a revolver and a BB gun was found in their vehicle.

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