Niles Crime: Hit-And-Run Drunken Driver Arrested

NILES, IL — The following information comes from the Niles Police Department as a record of police activity. An arrest is not an indication of guilt and a criminal charge represents merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent until their guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

DUI ARREST

David P. Pasulka, 57, of the 600 block of Chatham Road in Glenview, was arrested for driving under the influence after police responded to a hit-and-run accident in a parking lot in the 7100 block of Milwaukee on March 16 at 7:20 p.m. The victim told police a silver Lexus SUV had struck the curb and a building but the driver left the scene towards Touhy Ave. The caller believed the driver to be intoxicated. Police checked eastbound Touhy from Milwaukee for the car.

Dispatch told police the same vehicle had was the subject of a broadcast out of Chicago of a possible DUI driver headed northbound on the Kennedy shrtly before 7 p.m. As an NPD officer approached Lehigh on Touhy, they noticed a silver Lexus SUV with front end damage headed westbound on Touhy at the railroad tracks. Police caught up to the vehicle on Lehigh near Howard Street, where they confirmed the vehicle's plate matched that of the SUV that had left the scene of the original crash.

Police watched the Lexus drift between lanes and stopped the car around 7700 Lehigh. An officer approached the driver's window and immediately detected the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the car and said the driver had bloodshot and glassy eyes. The driver provided his license then started looking for his insurance. When police asked about the heavy front end damage to his vehicle and asked how it happened Pasulka ignored the officer continued searching for his insurance card. He failed a field sobriety test.

HIT-AND-RUN

Rosalina Alvarez, 34, of the 1300 block of South 51st Court in Cicero, was arrested March 14 shortly before 4 a.m. at Touhy and Melvina. Police said they were responding to a report of a hit-and-run accident at the location, and when they arrived, the victim told them he was stopped at a traffic light, facing southbound on Melvina Avenue at Touhy. While he was waiting, he told police a vehicle that was attempting to make a right turn onto Melvina from westbound Touhy lost control in the snow and hit his vehicle on the driver's side before fleeing northbound on Melvina. The victim described the car as a dark colored sedan.

Soon, another officer found a beige 200 Honda with heavy front end damage and a deployed airbag parked in a lot in the 7300 block of North Melvina. A witness told police they saw a woman walk from the car and head northbound on Melvina. Police searched the area for the woman but did not find her. Then, after the scene had been cleared, police saw the parked car begin to drive away. The driver told police he was just trying to get to work and would call his wife, who had just began her shift at work, to come to the scene. She returned to the scene from her place of work, her car was towed and she was taken into custody, processed and released for leaving the scene of an accident.

SUSPENDED LICENSE

Michael King, 31, of the 14000 block of South Lowe in Riverdale, was arrested for driving with a suspended license on March 14 around 9:30 p.m.. Police said they conducted a traffic stop on a westbound vehicle in the 8600 block of Dempster for broken tail lights. King failed to produce a valid license and was taken into custody and also cited for driving without lights.

Jesus Sanchez, 26, of the 2100 block of Stafford Court in Plainfield, was arrested after police pulled over a car driving 60 mph in a 35 mph zone in the 8000 block of Dempster. Police said stopped his car at Dempster and Harlem at 5:39 a.m. on March 17 and found him to have a suspended license. He was booked, his car was towed and he was also cited for speeding.

RETAIL THEFT

Liri Lutaj, 56, of the 4100 block of Narragansett in Chicago, was arrested for retail theft on March 16 at 6:22 p.m., after police were called to Golf Mill Mall. A retail store guard witnessed her attempt to steal cologne and a pair of scissors, stopped the woman and recorvered the items for a reported retail value of $154.40.

RETAIL THEFT

More than $2000 in clothing was reported stolen from a store at Golf Mill Mall on March 13 shortly before 4 p.m.. Store employees told police a woman and man entered the store. After leaving for a few minutes, the man returned with a large black bag and hid several items inside it. An employee confronted the man, who then grabbed several t-shirts and fled from the store. One customer chased after him and reported that the thief got into a light colored car in the parking lot. Police said investigators reviewed surveillance footage.

Two diaper bags were stolen from Golf Mill Mall around 8:15 p.m. on March 14. A guard at the store saw two people in the baby area. A woman was seen removing the cardboard from the inside of a babydiaper bag, which seemed very strange, the guard said. He continued watching the two on security cameras, and as they exited the mall the guard followed them outside and confronted them in the parking lot, asking them to return the items they had taken. The guard told police the suspects loaded their car and drove away towards Milwaukee Avenue. Police did not immediately locate the vehicle. The loss was reported to be about $80.

SHOPLIFTING

A 27-year-old Chicago man was ticketed on March 17 at 9:45 p.m. for trying to buy two hairbrushes and a bottle of water totaling $27 with an invalid credit card. The man walked out of the store with the merchandise before a guard stopped him and recovered the merchandise.

CRIMINAL DEFACEMENT

Someone used write spray paint on the hood, the driver's side window and both cargo boxes of a 1999 Ford Van parked in a lot in the 7100 block of Austin. The caller reported the incident shortly before 8 a.m. on March 17 and told police they suspected it might have been a former employee who had been terminated weeks earlier.

CANNABIS POSSESSION

On March 17 at 12:10 a.m. a Niles Police Officer noticed a car in the 8400 block of Dempster with a single taillight and conducted a traffic stop at Dempster and Grace. After police asked the driver, a 46-year-old Des Plains man, for his driver's license and proof of valid insurance, the officer noticed a strong odor of cannabis emitting from the car as the man got his license and registration out of the car. The NPD officer asked him if there was any cannabis inside the vehicle. The man told the officer he had smoked cannabis in the car recently. The officer asked him to exit the car for a probable cause search. The driver admitted to possesing marijuana and told the officer it was for personal use only. Police found a small amount of cannabis and a small pipe. The total weight was under 10 grams and the man was cited for possession of cannabis and a taillight violation.

TRESPASSING

Police were called to the school in the 8100 block of Cumberland for a trespassing report. A 49-year-old Glenview woman who had been banned from school property was reported on March 17 around 8 a.m. Police said she does not have custody of her children in regards to a divorce settlement and has been advised both in person and via letters sent via U.S. Mail that she is not allowed on the property. The principal saw her on the property, but when he asked her to leave the property she ran from him and off of the property. The principal asked for the report as a matter of record.

POLITICAL SIGN THEFT

A caller reported his political lawn signs had been removed but his opponent's signs had multiplied. He told police he put a yard sign in the front lawn of a house in the 6800 block of Howard on March 16 around 3 p.m. with the homeowner's permission. About 24 hours later, he discovered someone had removed the sign. The caller told police three more of his signs had been removed from the area around Dempster and Washington, but his opponent's signs were still there.

PUBLIC INTOXICATION

A 57-year-old Park Ridge man was found in the fetal position in the third floor hallway of a building on the 7000 block of Touhy on March 15 at 4:39. Niles police helped the man to his feet but he had difficulty maintaining his balance. Police said he had an open bottle of brandy laying beside him. He told police he used to have a family member who lived in the building but no longer does. He was taken to the hospital and cited for public intoxication and the cost of responding emergency services.

THEFT

An iPad was stolen from a retail store on the 5600 block of Touhy on March 15 at 11:15 p.m., the manager told police. Three people entered the store, all in their mid twenties. As the woman spoke to employees, the two men walked around the store, with one picking up the tablet, which employees did not realize was missing for more than an hour. Store employees told police the iPad, a $250 value, was unusable without its code.

On March 15 at 2:27 p.m. an employee of a store in the 8600 of Golf road. told police that while she was taking care of customers she left her iPhone on the counter. A short time later she went to locate her phone and it was gone. The phone, valued at $800, was entered into the state theft database. The victim said there were four customers in the store. Surveillance video is available.

DOMESTIC DISPUTE

Police responded to a call of a domestic disturbance in the 7600 block of Greenan at 5 p.m. on March 16. The dispute was between a father and son. The dad stated his son had been disrespectful and began to throw glasses and plates on the floor in rage, although he did not physically harm or verbally threaten anyone in the household. The son was upset the father is always telling him to get a job.

CRIMINAL DAMAGE

On March 16 at 10:37 a.m. a victim told police he parked in 2007 Audi on the 7900 block of Nordica. At some point, he said, someone had scratched his car with a key, damaging the driver's side rear quarter panel, rear tail gate, rear passenger side quarter panel, rear passenger door and the hood of the vehicle. It was the second time his car had been "keyed," so police said they were unable to distinguish fresh damage from old.

LOST/STOLEN PROPERTY

Shortly before 1 p.m. on March 13, an 83-year-old Niles woman told police she had lost her change purse, which contained $10 in change. She said she noticed it was missing when she returned home.