A Chicago man with an extensive criminal record is facing drug and other charges after being arrested while going door-to-door in Riverside using his 3-year-old daughter to beg for money, police said.
About 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Alberto Luis Alvarez, 37, was going door-to-door on the 7200 block of West Ogden Avenue in Riverside, using his 3-year-old girl and claiming to be injured as a ruse to beg money from residents, according to a release from the Riverside Police Department.
When officers questioned Alvarez while he stood next to his child's stroller, he tossed small plastic bags containing heroin to the ground and tried to run away, police said.
While processing Alvarez, police discovered his record included 98 previous arrests and 23 convictions on charges ranging from robbery, burglary and assault to drug possession and smuggling. He has used nine alias names, 10 dates of birth and five different Social Security numbers, according to police.
"It is simply deplorable that he is still out on the street looking for crimes of opportunity, purchasing drugs and looking for new victims to con by using a 3-year-old as a ruse," Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said.
Alvarez, of the 2500 block of North Harding Avenue in Chicago, was charged Thursday with felony possession of a controlled substance, felony obstruction of a police officer, resisting arrest and child endangerment.
The girl was turned over to a family member and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified, Weitzel said, and Alvarez was treated at a local hospital for heroin intoxication before being charged today.
Alvarez faces a bond hearing Friday in the Maybrook Courthouse, and already is out on bond on two previous charges in Chicago, Weitzel said.
