Off-Duty Officer Catches Late-Night Mailbox Smasher: Police Blotter

A 19-year-old Downers Grove man was arrested after an off-duty officer caught him smashing mailboxes, according to police.

Kevin D. Gordon, of the 1300 block of 68th Place, Downers Grove, was charged June 9 with assault, criminal damage to property and underage consumption of alcohol by a minor. He and another man were bashing mailboxes with wooden stakes at about 2:51 a.m. near Dickson Avenue and Plymouth, according to a police report.

Gordon at one point held the stake in front of him during the chase with the officer in the south-side village neighborhood. The officer took his gun out in case he needed to defend himself, but he didn't aim it at Gordon, the report said.

The other man, who wore a Blackhawks cap and jersey, was not found after the chase, according to police.

The officer was in his open garage on the phone when he first heard banging sounds and noticed the two men hitting a mailbox several houses to the west. He went back inside for his badge and handcuffs. When he returned, they were about to smash his mailbox with their 4 ft.-long wooden stakes, the report said.

The officer confronted them and identified himself as a police officer. Gordon ran south and the other man ran west. The officer ran on foot to the south of Dickson to chase Gordon, who would stop but then run again when the officer got close.

"(The officer) told him to put the stake down and Kevin refused and told (the officer) to show him his badge," the report said. "(The officer) showed Kevin his badge but Kevin said he could not see it …. Eventually Kevin put the stake down."

Gordon doubled back towards the officer's house, and that's when he finally caught him. When police arrived, Gordon was laying on his back and the officer was sitting on top of his waist, according to the report.

Police spoke to another resident, who said he was in his upstairs bedroom looking out the window when he saw two men damaging his mailbox. Shortly thereafter he saw the officer pursuing Gordon, but from a distance he didn't recognize him so he thought they were fighting. 

The man's mailbox was torn off the post and lay on the parkway. Police found two other broken mailboxes on the block for a total of $600 in property damage, according to the report. 

Gordon was handcuffed and taken to the Downers Grove Police Department. Police at the scene noticed Gordon had bloodshot, glassy eyes and smelled of alcohol, the report said. He was charged and later released on I-bond. 

Gordon's case for this incident is listed as active, but a future court date was not listed in county records on Sunday.

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Police Blotter information is provided by local law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.