Police Blotter: Pellet-Toting ATV Driver Hunts Squirrels on First Street

SATURDAY, OCT. 31

Hit and Run

Thomas M. Fegan, 66, of the 100 block of Forest Edge Drive in Palos Park, was charged with failure to reduce speed and leaving the scene of an accident. Police said Fegan rear-ended another car in the 18700 block of LaGrange Road around 10 p.m. on Oct. 29 and immediately drove off. Fegan—who contacted police two days later, after police made efforts to contact him—told the arresting officer that his foot slipped off the brake, hitting the accelerator, and that he drove away in a panic.

MONDAY, OCT. 24

ATV Driver Shot and Killed Squirrel

Jamie L. McInerney, 36, of the 11100 block of First Street in Mokena, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, reckless discharge of a firearm, suspended license and improper operation of ATV on roadway. Police said they stopped McInerney near First Street and Wolf Road around 2 p.m. for driving through his own neighborhood on his all-terrain vehicle shooting squirrels with a pellet gun. A BB pistol, pellet rifle, security badge and plastic bow case were seized, according to the report. McInerney killed at least one squirrel and hung it in front of his ATV, in a plastic bag, as he drove, police said.

Marijuana in 'Plain View'

Michael R. Szafrannowski, 29, of the 19500 block of 115th Avenue in Mokena, was charged with battery and possession of cannabis. Police were investigating a possible battery inside Szafrannowski’s apartment around 1:45 p.m. when they found 3.5 grams in “plain view” on the floor.

SUNDAY, OCT. 23

Minor Drinking, Hitchhiking

Antonio Fuentes, 20, of the 19900 block of LaGrange Road in Frankfort, was charged with illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor and disorderly conduct. Police said they saw Fuentes asking adults in the Walgreens parking lot whether they’d buy him alcohol at around 7 p.m., shortly after a failed attempt to purchase it inside the store. He was described in the report as “unsteady on his feet” with “bloodshot, glassy eyes." The father of a teenage girl also told police that Fuentes tried hitching a ride in his daughter’s car, even after she said, “No.” She managed to drive away as Fuentes was opening the passenger door, police said.

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