Crime & Safety

Teens Settle A Score With Fight In Morton Grove; Spurred by Stolen Cannabis, Police Say

Original reports said one of the fighting teens had a baseball bat; police brought in a K-9, found a bat and ASP (expandable baton) near scene, said they may or may not have been used.


Written by Pam DeFiglio

A group of high-school-age teens met in Morton Grove's Austin Park Thursday night to battle it out with fists and settle a score, according to Morton Grove police.

Two of the teens did the physical fighting, but one of those two implicated several of the witnesses, accusing them of arranging the theft of one gram of cannabis from him and prompting payback, according to the reports. Police broke up the fight, and said none of the teens required medical attention.

Someone who called police to report the fight said the teens were using a baseball bat as a weapon; Morton Grove Police Chief Mark Erickson said a baseball bat and an ASP (expandable baton) were found near the scene and may or may not have been used in the fight. 

Police do not name juvenile offenders, so the report refers to them by numbers. Juvenile Offenders 1 and 2 fought; the rest were witnesses.

According to the report, Juvenile Witness 5, the only girl involved, told police that she previously had gone with Juvenile Offender 1, Juvenile Witness 1 and Juvenile Witness 4 to Juvenile Offender 2's house to confront him about stealing one gram of cannabis from Juvenile Witness 1. 

Juvenile Witness 2 told police, according to the report, that two weeks prior, an unknown person had stolen one gram of cannabis from him, and he felt that Juvenile Witness 1 and Juvenile Witness 5 set up the theft.

On Monday Aug. 5, Juvenile Offender 2 said he was hanging out with Juvenile Offender 1 and Juvenile Witness 1, and he took one gram of cannabis from them as payback for what had been stolen from him, the report indicated.

On Aug. 8, four of the others went to Juvenile Offender 2's house to fight him, the report said, and they arranged to meet at Austin Park. The fight ensued until police broke it up.

Most of the teens were 16, although one is 15. One lives in Morton Grove; the rest are from another town, said Morton Grove Police Commander Paul Yaras. The fight was not gang-related, he confirmed. 

Police released the teens to the custody of their parents of guardians. 

Juvenile Offender 1 and Juvenile Offender 2 were charged with battery, and will be summoned to appear in juvenile court.

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