Illinois State Police are investigating, following a fatal shooting on Feb. 3 in Oak Park by a Forest Park police officer.
The shooting occurred after 26-year-old Marco Gomez allegedly stole a car in Glendale Heights. He ended up driving westbound through Chicago and Oak Park and was stopped near the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Jackson Boulevard, on the border of Forest Park and Oak Park, when a Forest Park officer spotted the vehicle.
The officer got out of his car and attempted to stop Gomez as he tried to make a U-turn and flee east. The officer, in the vehicle’s path and “fearing for his life,” fired into the car, killing Gomez. There were no other passengers in the car at the time.
The officer was subsequently placed on administrative leave pending the Illinois State Police investigation, Deputy Police Chief Michael Keating confirmed.
“He’s a seasoned officer,” Keating said, Feb. 4. “He’s not new.”
Residential burglary
A residence was burglarized in the 200 block of South Elmwood at 11 p.m. on Feb. 2. The burglar entered the residence through an unlocked rear door and took a set of car and house keys and a BSA Scorpion pellet gun. The burglar then left the residence and entered the garage by forcing in the side-service entrance door. The burglar then stole a blue 2008 Honda Element that contained a Kindle keyboard, a Garmin GPS, an Apple iPhone, two vape devices and two pairs of Oakley sunglasses. The loss was an estimated $9,125.
Burglary
A burglar used a piece of concrete to break the front-door glass pane of a business in the 300 block of Madison Street, sometime between midnight on Feb. 4 and 7:09 a.m. the next day. Once inside the business, the burglar stole several electronic hair clippers.
Robbery arrest
Ryan Sappington, 35, of the 900 block of North Leamington in Chicago, was arrested at 10:12 p.m. on Feb. 1, in the 100 block of Madison for a robbery that occurred on Nov. 2, 2016 in the 200 block of Chicago Ave.
Burglary to motor vehicle
A silver Honda Element was burglarized in the 200 block of South Austin sometime between 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 27 and 7 p.m. on Jan. 29. The burglar entered the vehicle through an unlocked door and took a black Hewlett-Packard laptop, a blue leather computer bag and a charging cord. The loss was an estimated $1,050.
Attempted theft
A man was the target of an attempted theft in the 200 block of North Lombard at 7:28 p.m. on Jan. 30. A young female, estimated to be 14 years old, standing 5-foot 2-inches to 5-foot 4-inches tall, with a thin build and wearing a dark blue hoodie and dark pants, attempted to remove the man’s leather satchel from his shoulder as she walked past him.
Theft
A man snatched an iPhone out of the victim’s hand while riding the CTA Green Line, at the Ridgeland stop at 11:35 p.m. on Jan. 30. The offender is described as a male, about 5-foot 8-inches tall, and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans. The loss was an estimated $750.
Motor vehicle theft
A white KIA, left unlocked and running with the key in the ignition, was stolen from the 1000 block of Lyman at 2:02 p.m. on Jan. 31.
These items, obtained from the Oak Park and River Forest police departments, came from reports, Jan. 30-Feb. 7, and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.
Compiled by Timothy Inklebarger and Thomas Vogel
