Crime & Safety

Noise Complaint Leads to Battery Charge

A father was also charged with providing alcohol to a minor.

Nicholas Torkelson, 19, of Niles, was charged with battery and bodily harm after neighbors in an apartment building on Churchill St., Niles, complained of noise coming from his apartment Jan. 8. 

Two neighbors told police they had argued with Torkelson after telling him his friends were too loud. One female victim said Torkelson went toward her and she ran outside. Once outside, she said Torkelson and another young man named Chris, last name unknown, slapped and punched her and another female victim in the face. Chris fled the area and Torkelson went back upstairs to his apartment. 

Police knocked on his door, but neither he nor his father would let them into the apartment. Police observed signs of alcohol consumption in both the son and father. Torkelson said one of the female victims had approached him while accompanied by some male friends and told them to stop making noise or they would get hurt. Torkelson said one of the female victims came after him with a garden hoe, and he slapped her out of self defense. Because Torkelson is under age 21, police cited his father with furnishing alcohol to a minor. Torkelson took a preliminary breath test, which indicated a blood alcohol level of .104, and police cited him for consumption of alcohol by a minor. Torkelson's court date is  Feb. 22 at the Skokie branch of the Cook County courts.

Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Woman walks out of store with unpaid shoes

Ruth Torres, 19, of Skokie was charged with retail theft after security personnel at Kohl's in Golf Mill Shopping Center said she tried on a pair of shoes valued at $109.95  on Jan. 9. She walked out of the store wearing them, without having paid for them.  

Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.