Teen arrested with loaded gun near ETHS

Police said they arrested a teen with a loaded gun early Tuesday morning near Evanston Township High School.

Officers recovered a Smith & Wesson revolver after they stopped Mario Banks Jr., 19, at about 1:45 a.m. near the 1900 block of Lake Street, Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said. Banks, of the 1600 block of Pitner Avenue, tried to flee the officers at first, abandoning his bike and jumping over a fence.

Before the arrest, the officers noticed Banks acting suspicious while riding the bike, Parrott said. When Banks noticed the police, he began looking over his shoulder and suddenly changed the direction in which he was riding.

Banks has been charged with unlawful use of a weapon. He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 21.

Woman pays for cake frosting, then steal colognes from Jewel-Osco

A Morton Grove, Ill., woman stole three boxes of cologne Monday afternoon from the Jewel-Osco near Dempster Street, according to police.

Before taking the cologne, though, Molly Davis-Collins, 39, paid for a can of cake frosting at the grocery store, 1128 Chicago Ave, Parrott said. Jewel-Osco loss prevention agents stopped Davis-Collins, of the 9300 block of Marion Avenue as she tried to leave the store with the cologne at about 3:15 p.m.

The three boxes of cologne are valued at about $137, Parrott said.

Davis-Collins has been charged with felony retail theft because she was convicted of the same crime in 2000, Parrott said. She is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 21.

— Patrick Svitek