Man Discovered Carrying Handgun in Backpack: Homewood Police Blotter

MONDAY, JUNE 18

Foiled Retail Theft

Jesse Brown, 54, of 14717 Main St., Harvey, was charged with retail theft after he took a piece of aluminum from a home improvement store in the 17500 block of Halsted at 11:32 a.m. Brown has a court date of August 7 at the Sixth Municipal District Courthouse in Markham.

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Preston Sparkman, 26, of 1327 Hamlin in Flossmoor, was charged with obstructing identification and cited with improper walking in the roadway. Sparkman allegedly walked down the center of Cherrywood lane around 12:40 a.m. as a police squad car approached him. He refused to identify himself to officers and he was uncooperative and verbally abusive when asked where he was going, police said. A second officer recognized Sparkman. He had a bond hearing June 18 in Markham.

SATURDAY, JUNE 16

Dueling Burglars?

Someone smashed the driver’s-side window and took $300 and two Visa debit cards from the center console of a vehicle that was parked near the Izaak Walton Preserve, 1100 Ridge Road. The burglary occurred between 4:15 p.m. and 7:54 p.m., police said. Around the same time, someone smashed the rear-passenger window of another vehicle, parked near the preserve and took a Coach purse valued at approximately $200, police said. The purse contained two checkbooks.   

THURSDAY, JUNE 14

Bikin’ and Back Packin’

Cory Bridges, 31, 13906 Indiana Ave., Riverdale, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon after police found a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun in a backpack he carried near 175th  Street and Halsted Street. Bridges was riding a bicycle near 174th and Halsted but ditched the bike and began walking when police spotted him, according to the police report. He reportedly told police the bike had a flat tire and he didn’t feel like pushing it all the way to Riverdale. Police said they found the weapon during a protective pat down of Bridges and a search of his backpack. He has a court date of July 24 in Markham.

Police report information is provided by the Homewood Police Department and other law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.