Grandpa Punches, Chokes 15-Year-Old Girl

Horst Hartl, 72, of Niles was charged with domestic battery and unlawful interference with 911 Saturday just before 9 p.m.

Niles police responded to a home on Ottawa Street and a 15-year-old girl told them she had been trying to use the phone when her grandfather, Hartl, had punched her on the face and choked her, police said. She said she had tried to call 911 but he had unplugged the phone, according to the report, preventing her from speaking with the 911 operator.

Police observed redness on the left side of the girl's neck, chest and arms, a small cut on her left ring finger and a scratch on her chest, they said. 

The girl's mother arrived shortly after police did and said she would sign complaints on her daughter's behalf. Both mother and daughter declined medical attention for the daughter.

Police interviewed Hartl and said he had an odor of alcohol on his breath. Speaking of his granddaughter, he said, "She is too loud," "I choked her," "I do not like her," "I punched her because she tried to hit me" and "I do not like her hairstyle."

Hartl's court date is June 19 in the Skokie branch of the Cook County courts.

Get Niles and Morton Grove news headlines delivered in your email. It's free. Learn more. 

Restaurant window smashed in burglary

The owner of a restaurant in the 9000 block of Greenwood told police she received a phone call from her property management company at 7:30 a.m. June 1, saying the front glass of the business had been smashed out. The owner said she had secured the business the previous night at 11:20 p.m. Cash had been taken from the cash register, police said. They are investigating.

Acura stolen, involved in crash

A woman from the 8400 block of Ottawa Street, Niles, reported June 1 that she had parked her 2003 Acura foor-door on the street at 11 p.m. the previous night, but it was gone. She said she has the only set of keys and that she owns the vehicle. While police were interviewing the victim, they learned the vehicle had been in a crash in the 16th Police District of Chicago (Northwest side). Niles police advised the victim to contact Chicago police.

Don't miss a thing! Like Niles-Morton Grove Patch on Facebook