Tuesday Blotter: Father Charged With DUI, Endangering Life of Child, Thief Steals Handicap Ramp

The following items are taken from the Des Plaines Police Department. In all incidents where an arrest occurred, a charge is merely an accusation and not evidence of guilt. The arrested person is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Arson

April 30: Police observed an empty, parked vehicle engulfed in flames on the 1800 block of Welwyn Avenue. The fire was extinguished and no on was harmed. Several witnesses said that they observed eight men around the car before the fire broke out, and saw them flee the scene after the fire broke out, but did not see any of the men start the fire and couldn't identify them. The owner of the vehicle arrived on the scene and said that her boyfriend is the primary driver of the vehicle.

Assault

April 28: Police arrested Billy J. Marcano, 23, of the 400 block of Oak Park Avenue in Oak Park, and charged him with assault after a man claimed that he followed him to his place of work on the 1500 block of South Elmhurst Road and harassed him. The victim ran into Marcano at a gas station, where he allegedly called the victim derogatory names and then followed and threatened him. 

Burglary to vehicle

May 1: A man reported that his passenger side window had been busted and $300 cash stolen from his vehicle while it was parked on the 400 block of North Third Avenue.

Criminal damage to property

April 28: The owner of The Gyro Factory, 668 Wolf Road, reported that $20,000 worth of damage had been made to his outdoor cooler.

Criminal trespass to vehicle

May 1: A witness called to report two men whom he said had started a tractor in a parking lot at 1400 Rand Road at 2:30 a.m, and were backing it up until they saw police. When police arrived they observed two intoxicated men on the scene who said they had come from a bar and were just walking home. The witness made a positive identification and Alexandre Makarov, 42, of the 900 block of Greenridge Road and Vadym Mityrin, 39, of the 1300 block of Harding Avenue in Des Plaines were charged with criminal trespass to a vehicle.

Driving under the influence/endangering the life of a child

April 28: A witness called police to report that he saw a vehicle crash into the curb on the 700 block of Oakton Street and then drive onto Short Terrace Street, where he saw a female passenger exit the vehicle and fall down. When police arrived they saw a the female passenger, 12, who said that her parents were in an accident and that she "didn't want to upset them" so she was going to walk home.

The victim's mother was in the passenger seat, bleeding from the face, and taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. The driver, John A. Gribben, 42, of the 10 block of 11th Avenue in Arlington Heights, was charged with DUI, DUI with a BAC. greater than .08, not having his license on his person, endangering the life of a child, improper lane usage, and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

Harassing phone calls

April 30: A man reported that he and his wife were receiving numerous phone calls from a man whom they had purchased vitamins from on a previous date. They told him that did not wish to purchase any more but he continued to make numerous calls to their residence.

Theft

April 29: A business owner told police that an unknown offenders stole two piles of steel valued at $500 from his business on the 2000 block of Rand Road.

April 29: A woman reported that her mountain bike was stolen from the backyard of her residence on the 1000 block of East Walter Avenue.

May 1: A teenage boy reported that his mountain bike was stolen from outside Walgreens at 17 W. Golf Road.

May 1: A woman reported that an unknown offender stole a handicap ramp from the rear entrance to her condo on the 100 block of Dover Drive.