Tinley Park woman arrested after Family Express clerk presses hold-up alarm

Thursday, July 24, 2025 at 2:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

A hold-up alarm at the Family Express on 1628 West Jefferson Street prompted officers from the Plymouth Police Department to respond to the scene at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

As officers arrived on scene, dispatch informed them that the store clerk had called in, saying that a female had assaulted a male and then jumped up onto the counter.

City officers located the female who initially gave a fake name. She was later identified as Samantha Danko, 40, of Tinley Park, IL.

Officers asked Danko what had happened, and she said nothing else to the officers.

Witnesses at Family Express told police that Danko had battered a 16-year-old male who was standing in line behind her. She also grabbed the male by the neck. Danko then jumped up on the counter of the store for an unknown reason.

Danko was taken into custody and booked into the Marshall County Jail for battery, strangulation, false information, disorderly conduct, and obstruction of justice. She was held on a $5,000 cash bond.

Readers are reminded that charging information supported by an affidavit of probable cause is merely an allegation that a crime has been committed, and there is only probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed. They are presumed innocent throughout the proceedings and are entitled to be represented by counsel and to a trial by jury at which the State is obligated to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt before a judgment of guilt may be made.