The parking lot at Topgolf in Napeville appears to be a busy place.
Last week, two more gun-related arrests were made in the lot on Odyssey Court, the latest in a long line of such incidents since last summer.
On Friday at approximately 6:30pm, Naperville police officers on patrol observed an odor of cannabis coming from a vehicle in the parking lot. As officers surveilled the vehicle, they watched a man enter the driver’s seat of the vehicle. Officers approached the vehicle and asked the man to exit the vehicle. It is alleged that as he did so, officers observed in plain view a gun, later determined to be a loaded Taurus .40 caliber PT740 with eight rounds in the magazine, tucked inside an opening near the gas pedal. The man was taken into custody immediately.
On Saturday at approximately 10:05pm, in an unrelated incident, officers again on routine patrol observed a handgun, later determined to be a loaded Taurus 9mm Millenium G2 with twelve rounds in the magazine, in plain view in the netting pocket on the back of the front passenger seat of a vehicle in the parking lot. They observed a man enter the rear passenger seat of the vehicle and then pinned-in the vehicle with their cars and ordered the man out of the vehicle, who was then taken into custody. Officers allegedly found 12.4 grams of crack cocaine in his jacket.
At pre-trail detention hearings over the weekend, Judge Demetrios Panoushis granted the State’s motion to deny pre-trial release for both men.
The first suspect, a 34-year-old man from Blue Island, has been charged with one count of Armed Habitual Criminal (Class X Felony), one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon by a Felon (Class 3 Felony) and one count of Misdemeanor Unlawful Possession of Cannabis by a Driver. The second suspect, a 44-year-old man from Maywood, has been charged with one count of Armed Habitual Criminal (Class X Felony), one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon by a Felon (Class 3 Felony) and one count of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (Class 4 Felony).
“Public safety remains the top priority of my office,” DePage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. “As convicted felons, both of these men have forfeited their right to legally possess a firearm. What I find particularly troubling are the allegations that both men brought a loaded firearm to a family friendly recreation facility. This type of behavior is inexcusable and will be fully prosecuted.”
