The following items were taken from police and court reports and news releases. An arrest does not constitute a finding of guilt.

Burbank

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: Elmer F. Rodesno-Paz, 42, Chicago, was arrested Dec. 27 at 79th Street and Lockwood Avenue and subsequently charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after brandishing a knife at another person during an argument in a restaurant parking lot in the 5400 block of 79th Street, police said.

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: Jordan Williams was charged with aggravated assault Dec. 21 after threatening to hit an officer removing him from a restaurant in the 8600 block of Cicero Avenue, police said.

ARMED ROBBERY: A man in a ski-mask entered a liquor store in the 6800 block of 87th Street Jan 3, brandished a handgun and left on foot with an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

Crete

AGGRAVATED BATTERY: Tyler T. Adams, 26, 1300 block of Colony Drive, Crete, is scheduled to appear in Will County court Jan. 26, charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and domestic battery, according to court records online.

Ford Heights

DRUGS: Two Ford Heights men were arrested Jan. 7 after Cook County sheriff’s organized crime division investigators recovered 32.5 grams of suspected crack cocaine, six firearms including a gun without a serial number and more than $6,700 during a search in the 1400 block of Deer Creek Lane, sheriff’s police said. Jason Thomas, 49, is charged with manufacturing/delivering cocaine, possessing cocaine and being a felon possessing a weapon. Jermaine Thomas, 49, is charged with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, according to sheriff’s police and jail records online. Investigators also seized 18 dogs, a cross bow, two traditional bows, arrows, three knives and a machete, police said.

Homewood

FLEEING CRASH: Bryan Lopez Contreras, 20, 1200 block of Vincennes Avenue, Chicago Heights, fled a Nov. 25 stop at 183rd and Halsted streets to Thornton, where he drove off the roadway after driving 45 mph above the posted speed limit, police said. Lopez Contreras was charged with fleeing/eluding, speeding/35 mph or more, driving on a suspended license and improper lane use, police said.

DUI CRASH: Miguel Mota Bautista, 30, 1600 block of Buena Vista Avenue, Chicago Heights, was arrested Nov. 26 and charged with drunken driving, failing to reduce speed to avoid a collision, driving on a suspended license and failing to provide proof of insurance during a crash investigation at Ashland Avenue and Willow Road, police said.

Mokena

AGGRAVATED BATTERY: Garrett J. Rabka, 38, Mokena, is scheduled to appear in Will County court Jan. 15, charged with aggravated battery to a child younger than 13, according to court records online.

New Lenox

RECKLESS CONDUCT: James J. Henningsen, 37, 1700 block of Nelson Road, New Lenox, was charged Dec. 19 with reckless conduct after accidentally discharging a firearm while securing it in a closet, police said. The bullet traveled through a wall into an adjacent residence, which was unoccupied at the time, police said.

DUI CRASH: A New Lenox man is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 23 in Will County court on charges of drunken driving, hit-and-run, fleeing, failing to reduce speed to avoid a collision, disregarding a traffic light, improper lane use and failing to provide proof of insurance, according to court records online. James W. Rossow, 23, 200 block of Pine Street, collided with a utility pole in the 300 block of Maple Street Dec. 25 and left, disregarding an officer’s orders to stop for three miles, police said.

Oak Lawn

AGGRAVATED BATTERY: Pierre P. Johnson, 32, Laflin Street, Calumet Park, was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer after grappling with an officer during a Jan. 1 traffic stop at 103rd Street and Tripp Avenue, police said.

Orland Park

ROAD RAGE: Jose M. Reyes, 37, 10800 block of Donna Lane, Orland Park, was charged with aggravated assault, reckless driving and improper lane use Dec. 19 after threatening to break another motorist’s nose while wielding a baseball bat at 159th Street and 108th Avenue, police said.

DUI CRASH: Jerry Butler, 63, 11300 block of Peach Tree Drive, Alsip, was charged Dec. 20 with drunken driving, failing to reduce speed to avoid a collision, illegally transporting alcohol and failing to provide proof of insurance after colliding with a curb in the 15400 block of 94th Avenue, police said.

RETAIL THEFT: Keyshay B. Hampton, 25, Chicago, was arrested Dec. 20 and charged with felony retail theft after under-ringing merchandise retailing for $2,388 from a department store at Orland Square mall, police said.

DEALING CHARGED: Deandre Walton, 38, was scheduled to appear in Cook County court at Bridgeview Jan. 14, charged with possessing more than 2,000 grams of cannabis with intent to deliver, aggravated fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest and multiple traffic violations stemming from a Jan. 12 narcotics investigation at his former residence in the 14100 block of John Humphrey Drive, police said. A drone-assisted search for Walton near Schussler Park resulted in his arrest, police said.

Palos Heights

DUI SPEEDING: Ramon Lewis, 30, Chicago, is scheduled to appear in Cook County court at Bridgeview March 9, charged with drunken driving and aggravated speeding in connection with his Jan. 3 arrest in the 6400 block of College Drive for driving 79 mph in a 40 mph zone, police said.

Palos Hills

ATTEMPTED ROBBERY: A resident driving into a garage in the 9900 block of 82nd Court Dec. 29 escaped an armed stranger ordering him out of the vehicle by reversing and accelerating back out of the building, police said. The intruder fled to a sedan waiting down the block, police said.

GUN POSSESSION: James H. Peoples, 28, Justice, was arrested for unlawful possession of a weapon after officers recovered a loaded 9 mm pistol and loaded magazine during a Dec. 29 traffic stop in the 10700 block of Harlem Avenue and determined his concealed carry license had been revoked, police said.

Steger

VIOLENT OFFENDER: Joyce J. Merritt, 61, 23600 block of Kings Road, unincorporated Crete Township, was arrested for failing to register as a violent offender against youth during a Jan. 6 traffic stop at Steger Road and Peoria Street, police said. Merritt, who last registered in 2015, was convicted in Will County of aggravated battery to a child when the victim was 5 and she was 49, according to state records online.

AGGRAVATED BATTERY: A Steger man accused of hitting an infant, choking the child’s mother and then running from police Jan. 10 was arrested near Richton and Kings roads after a search involving a helicopter and drone, police said. Amire D. Brazelton, 21, 400 block of 34th Street, Steger, was subsequently charged with aggravated battery to a child younger than 13, aggravated battery/strangulation and resisting arrest, according to police and Will County jail records online.

Tinley Park

SEX OFFENDER: Charles R. Miller, 69, Pontiac, was booked Jan. 9 into the Will County jail by Tinley Park police for failing to register as a sex offender, according to jail records online. Miller was convicted in Knox County of aggravated criminal sexual abuse to a 15-year-old child when he was 48, according to the state sex offender registry online.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/southland-crime-orland-road-rage-palos-robbery/