A 20-year-old West Chicago man was denied pre-trial release Friday after being charged for allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase Thursday evening after an attempted traffic stop.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and West Chicago Chief of Police Colin Fleury announced that the suspect has been charged with two counts of Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding a Police Officer (a Class 4 Felony); one count of Aggravated Unlawful Possession of a Weapon (a Class 4 Felony); and multiple Misdemeanor offenses including Battery and Driving While License Suspended.
According to prosecutors, at approximately 11:45pm on Thursday, West Chicago police responded to a 911 call advising that the occupant of a vehicle allegedly flashed a gun at another individual while he was walking his dog in 800 block of Lincoln Avenue. It is alleged that when an officer located the vehicle involved, later determined to be driven by the suspect, and attempted to conduct a traffic stop by activating his emergency lights and siren, the suspect fled westbound on Ann Street at a high rate of speed, ultimately making his way onto Roosevelt Road where the officer paced the vehicle’s speed at approximately 100 m.p.h. near Winfield Road.
At one point during the pursuit, the officer was traveling head-on towards the suspect’s vehicle and, in order to evade the officer, the suspect struck a vehicle stopped at a stop sign,
Wheaton police officers were ultimately able to successfully spike strip the suspect’s vehicle at which time he was taken into custody. When searching the vehicle, officers allegedly located a loaded, Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun with one bullet in the chamber.
“The allegations that [the suspect] fled from police at a high rate of speed while armed with a loaded gun are extremely disturbing,” Berlin said. “Once again, a defendant who thought they could outrun law enforcement in DuPage County learned the hard way that our officers are extremely well trained to safely apprehend those who flee instead of pulling over. Thankfully, no innocent pedestrians or motorists were injured as a result of [the suspect’s] alleged actions.”
