Southland crime: Shooting in Matteson, bank robbery in Oak Lawn

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

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: Edward H. Owens, 42, undisclosed address, Worth, was arrested and accused of aggravated assault Aug. 16 in the 10500 block of Harlem Avenue after threatening to hit a person with a baseball bat and then repeatedly swinging the bat at that person, police said.

TECHNOLOGY THEFT: A box used to locate fiber optic dead zones was reported stolen July 22 from New Monee Road at Dixie Highway. An engineer told Will County sheriff’s deputies he placed the box and then drove to a second location a few miles away where he received a signal that the first locator box was out of range. He returned to the first site and found the locator box gone.

BURGLARY: Daniel Gibson, 25, and Julian Wilson, 25, are charged with burglary in connection with the break-in at Evergreen Pantry, 9860 Kedzie Ave., a little before 6:30 a.m. Aug. 17, police said. Officers obtained video of the burglary, getaway vehicle information and offender descriptions before spotting the car in a parking lot on the 10100 block of Kedzie Avenue, police said.

BATTERY ARREST: Ashanti Laird, 41, 9400 block of Utica Avenue, Evergreen Park, was arrested and accused of battery and criminal damaging to property Aug. 20 in that block, police said. A resident told officers he was standing in his driveway when a naked woman he didn’t know came up, slapped his face and broke his car window, police said. Laird slapped an officer’s face when questioned, police said.

GUN ARREST: A Newton, North Carolina man who had a loaded gun in his car without Illinois permits was arrested and accused of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon during an Aug. 22 traffic stop in the 8800 block of Pulaski Road, police said. Officers pulled over a vehicle driven by Joshua Smith, 29, after seeing it obstruct traffic and disobey a traffic signal, police said. Officers retrieved Smith’s weapon after he told them it was in the vehicle, police said.

OFFICER THREATENED: Leonard K. Garner, 32, Chicago, was arrested and accused of aggravated assault after interrupting a crash report Sunday evening and threatening officers, police said. Garner approached a lone officer in the OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center parking lot, ignored multiple orders to leave and continued to threaten the officer, police said. When other officers arrived in response to the threats, Garner threatened them, police said.

DUI CRASH: Dityana Williams, 27, Chicago, was arrested and accused of drunken driving Aug. 23 in the 9300 block of Western Avenue after crashing into the roadway median, police said.

ARMED ROBBERY: A man wearing a ski mask obtained a minimal amount of cash from the register around noon July 21 from the Speedway gas station, 19730 Harlem Ave., Will County sheriff’s police said. The man told an employee, “I know you see this gun in my pocket,” police said.

ARMED ROBBERY: A masked individual fled in an unknown vehicle with an undisclosed amount of cash Monday morning from the Subway sandwich shop, 18350 Governors Highway, after demanding money from the register while displaying a gun, police said. No one was injured, police said. Police ask anyone with information to contact the criminal investigations unit at 708-206-3420.

SHOOTING: Two persons were treated for minor injuries Saturday night at the Matteson Community Center after an altercation between two men turned into what police called an isolated shooting. Police ask anyone with information to contact Matteson police at 708-503-3130.

BANK ROBBERY: A man wearing a blue surgical mask escaped in a red sedan with an undisclosed amount of money from the Chase Bank branch at 10440 S. Cicero Ave., at 12:17 p.m. Friday after demanding money and displaying a black handgun with a silver slide, according to the FBI. No physical injuries were immediately reported, the FBI said. Officials ask anyone with information or tips to call 312-421-6700 or go to tips.fbi.gov.

STOLEN CAR: A Country Club Hills man who failed to return a rental vehicle is scheduled to return to Will County circuit court Oct. 10 on two felony charges related to motor vehicle theft, according to court records online. Brian M. Harris, 37, 4100 block of 195th Street, is charged with possessing a stolen vehicle worth more than $25,000 and the misdemeanor charge of trespassing to a motor vehicle, court records show. Will County sheriff’s deputies took Harris into custody July 18 in Crete.

ILLEGAL GUN: Tarell A. Hicks, 20, undisclosed address, Calumet Park, was arrested during an Aug. 21 traffic stop in the 8000 block of 111th Street and subsequently accused of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after officers recovered a 9 mm Luger-style pistol with an extended magazine and a device that converts the gun into an automatic weapon, police said.

CHECK FRAUD: A resident of an undisclosed block of 123rd Street learned Monday that several checks written to businesses were “washed” and sent to his bank for payment. Police say the checks may have been stolen from his residential mailbox, where they had been placed for pickup. According to the National Check Fraud Center, fraudsters create a blank check by erasing the inked name of the payee with chemicals and rewriting the stolen checks to themselves.

DISORDERLY PARTY: An officer responding at 11:45 p.m. to neighbors’ complaints about a Friday night party that drew about 150 people to the first block of Apache Street quickly called for backup, assessing the scene as multiple vehicles parked on the wrong side of the street and blocking residential driveways, a DJ playing loud music, multiple people consuming alcohol and a strong smell of burned cannabis in the air, police said. LaTonya A. Anderson, 40, was ticketed for keeping a disorderly house, police said.

DUI: Nasharri C.M. Davis, 24, 12200 block of Washington Avenue, Blue Island, was arrested and accused of drunken driving with a blood-alcohol concentration above the legal limit during a Saturday one-vehicle crash investigation at Western Avenue and Sauk Trail, police said.

ILLEGAL GUN: A Chicago Heights man charged with three gun-related Class X felonies is scheduled to appear in Will County circuit court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing and to request that his $250,000 bond be reduced, according to court records online. Gralen T. Potts, 37, 100 block of East 12th Street, is charged with being a felon possessing/using a machine gun, possessing a machine gun/automatic weapon in a motor vehicle and being an armed habitual criminal, court records show. Potts, arrested Aug. 12, is also charged with being a felon in possession of a weapon and causing $500 to $10,000 property damage, also felonies, according to court records.

DUI: A Hazel Crest man accused of his second drunken-driving crash in less than a year is scheduled to return to Will County circuit court Friday, according to court records online. Parris Shields, 38, 3500 block of Marseilles Lane, is charged with two counts of aggravated drunken driving/revoked license, as well as drunken driving with a blood-alcohol concentration above the legal limit, driving on the wrong side of the road and failing to reduce speed to avoid a collision in connection with the Aug. 10 collision, according to sheriff’s and court records.