Homeless Man in AK-47 Incident Picked Up Again For Missing Court Date

A 35-year-old homeless man who failed to appear in court May 11 after being arrested for saying he had an AK-47 weapon at the Jewel-Osco store in La Grange Park was picked up May 13 by Niles police.

Jeffrey T. Tucker, charged with disorderly conduct in the April 12 incident, was brought last week to the 4th Municipal District courthouse in Maywood for a bond hearing.

Niles police called about 5:13 a.m. May 13 to say they had Tucker in custody on the La Grange Park police warrant for his failure to appear in court. La Grange Park police met Niles officers at Harlem and North avenues to pick up Tucker and bring him back to the police station. Tucker’s last known address was in La Grange Park about 10 years ago, police said.

Police were called at about 12:18 p.m. April 12 to the Jewel-Osco, 507 E. Woodlawn Ave. for a man possibly carrying an AK-47. No gun was found, police said.

A Jewel-Osco employee said a man was in the front of the store by a checkout counter, was yelling and talking loudly.  The employee said the man came up to him, said he had an AK-47 and he should watch himself.  The employee went into a back room and called 9-1-1.

When police arrived, an officer said Tucker started walking to the west door and was about 30 feet away when he turned around for an unknown reason.  He then spotted the officer and called for him to come over to him. The officer said he did, pointed a shotgun at Tucker and told him to lie on the ground. He was handcuffed and was repeating the phrase “AK-47,” police said.

Man arrested on drug-related charges

A 20-year-old Lyons man was arrested May 15 after La Grange Park police said they found 29 grams of marijuana, a one-hitter pipe, 44 plastic bags, rolling papers and a portable digital scale in his car stopped at about 12:39 a.m. by an officer for not having a light over his rear license plate.

Gregory P. Pluta, 4439 Amelia Ave., was charged with possession of cannabis, 10 to 30 grams; possession of drug paraphernalia; and ticketed for no registration light. He posted $100 bond and faces a July 13 court date.

A police officer reported going east on Harding Avenue at Sherwood Wood and noticed a green Chevrolet in front with no rear registration light.

The officer stopped the car at Homestead, went up to the Astro van and reported noticing the smell of burnt marijuana and fresh cannabis from it. Asked about the smell, the driver replied that he and friends just smoked in there about 45 minutes previously, according to police.   

Pluta told police he had just left a friend’s house and his friends were headed to bars in Brookfield but he could not join them because he is only 20 years old.

Given permission to search the car, the officer reported finding a one-hitter pipe between the two front seats with a burnt resin inside; and green leafy flakes on the carpet floor. In the rear of the van, in a built-in storage area, the officer found one clear plastic bag with a smaller bag containing a large amount of green leafy substance; six smaller bags; and two packages of rolling papers. Under the front seat was a portable digital scale and 37 purple plastic bags, police said.

The leafy substance field tested as cannabis and weighed 29.61 grams, police said.

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