Highland Park Man Was Drunk During Crash With Injuries: Blotter

LAKE FOREST-LAKE BLUFF — The following information comes from the Lake Forest and Lake Bluff police departments and court records as a record of those arrested by police. Readers are reminded that an arrest is not an indication of guilt and criminal charges, which represent merely accusations by the state, are often dropped or reduced. Updated information may be available from the Lake County Circuit Clerk of Courts. All persons named are innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

ARRESTS

A 23-year-old Waukegan man was arrested around 12:30 a.m. on May 26 and charged with driving without a license following a traffic stop in the area of Route 41 and Westleigh Road. Police reported he was driving 75 mph in a 55 mph zone. He was also ticketed for speeding.

A 34-year-old Highland Park man was arrested around 11:30 a.m. on May 30 and charged with driving without a driver's license following an equipment violation traffic stop in the area of Old Elm Road and Mt. Vernon Avenue.

Edwin Mendez-Meraz, 24, of the 600 block of Walnut Street, Highland Park, was arrested around 4 a.m. on June 1 following an investigation into a traffic crash with injuries at the intersection of Route 41 and Route 60. Police reported Mendez-Meraz had been driving a black Mazda with extensive damage to its front end. He smelled like alcohol and appeared drunk, so officers performed a field sobriety test and placed him under arrest. He later provided a breath sample indicating his blood alcohol concentration was 0.196, about 2½ times the legal limit. Mendez-Meraz was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of alcohol with a BAC of 0.08 or greater and issued a citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash.

Terry Carlson, 48, of the 3100 block of Grand Avenue, Gurnee, was arrested at 4:19 p.m. on June 2 after police reported he fled the scene of a crash near Route 41 and Old Elm Road. Lake Bluff police located him and took Carlson into custody. Officers learned he had an active arrest warrant issued by DuPage County authorities and had a revoked license at the time of the crash. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, driving with a revoked license and without any vehicle insurance.

Jay Schloemer, 49, of the 1300 block of North Western Avenue, Lake Forest, was arrested at 5:10 p.m. on June 2 at his home and charged with assault after a dispatchers got a call that Schloemer had threatened someone. Officers arrived and spoke to the victim. Police reported Schloemer became argumentative and berated them before officers took him into custody. Court records show he is awaiting trial on charges of disorderly conduct and electronic harassment. Schloemer has claimed he is innocent and said the harassment charge relates to emails reporting a sexual assault at a local hospital and the disorderly conduct charge was filed following his complaint to a local pharmacy about someone dealing cocaine.

Jesus Paniagua, 27, of the 4200 block of Amelia Avenue, Lyons, was arrested at 4:40 p.m. on June 6 by officers dispatched to the Elawa Farms parking lot following a 911 call about a possible intoxicated driver. The driver was parked in the middle of the lot, police reported. When officers spoke to him, he explained he had parked to take a break and said he had four beers and a shot of liquor before driving. He was arrested after completing field sobriety tests. At the station, Paniagua produced a breath sample indicating a blood alcohol concentration of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit.

Robert Reda, 57, of the 100 block of Washington Circle, Lake Forest, was arrested at his home around 4:30 p.m. on June 7 on a warrant for two counts of battery issued the day before. Officers also served him with an order of protection. Court records show he is set to stand trial before a judge later this month on two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery in connection with an incident last year in Lake Forest.

Axel Santiago-Zepeda, 19, of the 300 block of Ferndale Drive, Round Lake Beach, was arrested around 3:15 a.m. on June 8 following a traffic stop on Route 41. Police reported he was recorded on radar driving 120 mph in a construction zone and fled police when officers tried to pull him over. After his white and black BMW was later pulled over, police learned there was a 16-year-old passenger in the car. Three hours earlier, Illinois State Police had also pulled over Santiago-Zepeda and ticketed him for speeding, police learned. He was arrested and charged with aggravated speeding in a construction zone, reckless driving and child endangerment.

Lorena Melgar, 37, of the 1600 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, was arrested around 2:15 a.m. on June 9 in the 300 block of Waukegan Road and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Police reported they pulled her over after noticing her driving an SUV erratically. She explained she had become lost trying to drive a friend home from a bar. She was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and issued citations for an improper turn and improper lane usage.

Earlier: Home Burglars Caught On Video While Residents Sleep; Undercover Investigation Leads to Lake Forest Man's Arrest: Lake Forest Police Blotter, May 9–May 23

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