The 10 Strangest Crimes of 2011

Tuesday, March 1

A man was seen stealing a life-size cardboard cutout of Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose from the McDonald’s on Plainfield Road, police said. The man loaded the cut out into a silver or gray SUV, possibly a Jeep Cherokee, and pulled out of the lot, according to the report. The cutout is valued around $100.

A 13-year-old Darien boy was arrested Saturday afternoon when an off-duty detective saw him and a friend swinging a large knife at trees and shrubs along 75th Street and Plainfield Road, police said. The knife was about 8.5 inches long, Darien police spokesman Nick Skweres said. “It’s just not smart,” Skweres said of the boys’ extracurricular activity.

Taking a page from Spiderman, police said a Darien man is accused of climbing from his apartment’s balcony to a neighbor’s balcony. But that’s where the Spidey similarities stop. Anthony LaMontagna, 33, of the 8200 block of Woodland Drive, then threw his neighbor’s flower pots off of the balcony and onto the parkway, according to police reports. He then got into a verbal fight with his neighbor that became even more heated when police said he punched his neighbor’s adult son in the face. Police charged LaMontagna with battery and criminal damage to property for the June 20 incident.

Dina Ivancich started driving the wrong way on Cass Avenue in Darien early June 19 because she said the GPS told her to, according to police. Darien police said they saw Ivancich, 46, of the 10800 block of South Keating in Oak Lawn, cut off another driver when she abruptly changed lanes before stopping on the Interstate 55 on-ramp at Lemont Road. She then entered I-55, driving northbound until she reached Cass Avenue, according to the report. After exiting the interstate, police said Ivancich drove north in the southbound lanes of Cass Avenue. Darien police charged her with driving under the influence and gave her a July 19 court date.

Two to three teenage girls ordered an ice cream cone from the drive-thru at McDonald’s on Plainfield Road, police said. They paid for it but then threw it back at the cashier, hitting him in the shoulder, according to the report. McDonald’s banned them from the restaurant. No charges were filed.

Doris E. Matino, 39, of the first block of West 59th Street in Westmont, was arrested around 1:15 a.m. at Joanie’s Dry Dock on North Frontage Road, police said. According to police, Matino punched another woman in the face because she was “looking at her boyfriend.” Matino was charged with battery and given an Oct. 3 court date.  

Albert Ariola, 64, of the 700 block of 86th Street, refused to answer questions when officers pulled him over for driving erratically about, according to police.While he first got out of the car, Ariola then went back in and told officers he wouldn’t leave it because he “didn’t want to do anything incriminating,” police said. He was charged with driving under the influence.

A Darien man urinated in the  parking lot early Sept. 5 after driving himself to the station following a domestic incident, police said. The officer saw a splash and a trail of liquid in the parking lot, according to the report. Lucas told police he was drunk and had relieved himself in the lot, the officer said. Police said they arrested Lucas around 5:30 a.m. and charged him with one count of driving under the influence – physical control and one count of DUI for having blood alcohol levels more than .08.

A Willowbrook teen punched a car with his fist as he drove past it into the Wendy’s parking lot Friday around 5:15 p.m., police said. Police said the teen was angry that he had to wait in traffic before pulling into the lot. He was given an ordinance citation for disorderly conduct and released to his dad, the report said.  

Two-and-a-half pallets of onions were stolen from the bed of a semi parked in the truck lot at 1035 South Frontage Road sometime between 6 p.m. Friday and 4:50 p.m. Sunday,  said. The onions were valued at $5,625.