Woman Uses Stroller to Hide Shoplifted Items: Police Blotter

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 29

Battery

Michael A. Gramajo, 29, of Elk Grove, was charged with battery after he choked a cab driver as he was being taken to Hines VA Hospital in Maywood, police said. A passenger in the same cab told police Gramajo became irritated after the pair was picked up at the CTA Blue Line station on Des Plaines Avenue. Gramajo then reached through the front seats and started choking the driver, police said. The passenger, who knew Gramajo, told police she attempted to restrain him but was unable to do so.

Obstructing Justice

Darius M. Fox, 26, of Chicago, was charged with obstructing justice after he hid his identity to avoid being arrested on an active warrant out of Cook County, police said. The warrant was for driving on a suspended/revoked license. Police pulled over the car Fox was driving in the 8300 block of Roosevelt Road. Fox also was charged with improper lane usage and driving on a suspended/revoked license, police said.

Retail Theft

Kristen M. Bryson, 29, of Stickney was charged with felony retail theft after she attempted to leave Kmart, 8311 Roosevelt Rd., with items she had stashed in the bottom of her 4-year-old daughter's stroller, police said. Police said Bryson had paid for some items and then returned to shop in the store. Bryson was seen by store security placing items into the bottom of the stroller and entering the women's washroom, where authorities said she removed the items she bought and replaced them with the ones she took. She was detained and searched as she tried to leave the store. The items she tried to take included earrings, children's clothing and two bottles of baby formula, all valued at $161.86, police said. The child was picked up by an uncle from the Forest Park Police Department.

TUESDAY, AUG. 28

Retail Theft Arrest

John T. Munk, 30, of Downers Grove, was charged with felony retail theft after he put four calculators, plus hair and deoderant products, into a backpack he also took and bolted out of Kmart, 7600 Roosevelt Rd., police said. The theft was in progress when an officer arrived on the scene, and as Munk ran out, the officer got back into his squad car and followed him, police said. He was eventually apprehended by police in the 1100 block of Hannah Avenue. The items were valued at $554.36.

MONDAY, AUG. 27

Possession of a Controlled Substance

A 30-year-old from Schaumberg was charged with possession of a controlled substance after an officer pulled over a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am in the 1200 block of Marengo Avenue for failing to signal as it turned left into an alley on South Roosevelt Road, police said. Ronald Lee Hess, 30, the driver of the auto, also was charged with driving on a suspended/revoked license, failing to signal and possession of a hypodermic needle. Several small plastic baggies containing a total of 7 grams of a white powdery substance field tested positive for heroin and were confiscated at the scene, police said. Ten 10 hypodermic needles also were confiscated, police said.

Police Blotter information is provided by the Forest Park Police Department. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.