A West Chicago felon will remain in jail until at least his next court appearance after he allegedly pointed a gun at a man before leading police on a chase, prosecutors said.
A motion to deny pre-trial release for Matt Waldon, 39, of the 200 block of Arbor Avenue, was approved on Friday.
Waldon is charged with two counts of attempt armed robbery, three counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer and one count each of of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and reckless discharge of a firearm, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.
About 12:16 p.m. April 9, West Chicago police officers responded to a call of a man with a gun in the 100 block of Galena Street.
Police later learned that Waldow allegedly approached a man who was sitting in his truck and told the victim that he was in his neighborhood and should leave, according to the release.
Waldow allegedly showed a knife to the victim before pointing a black handgun at him and demanded his cell phone. The victim backed out of the driveway and fled, authorities said.
Waldow then returned to the building on Galena Street before fleeing in a White Dodge Ram pickup truck. A short time later, a West Chicago police officer saw the Dodge on eastbound Washington Street near Oakwood Avenue and initiated a traffic stop. Instead of stopping, Waldow fled eastbound on Washington Street, ignoring a red light at Washington and Main streets, according to the release.
He then turned northbound on Ingalton Avenue and led multiple officers on a pursuit through a residential area. During the pursuit, he collided with a parked vehicle before returning to eastbound Washington Street.
Waldow then ignored a red light at Washington and Route 59 and after merging onto Geneva Road from Washington Street, he reached speeds in excess of 90 m.p.h. in a 45-m.p.h. zone while weaving in and out of traffic, according to the release.
During the pursuit, Waldow collided with several vehicles before crossing westbound Geneva Road and crashing the Dodge into a ComEd power pole near the entrance of Pleasant Ridge, a mobile home park located on Geneva Road, authorities said.
Waldow exited the Dodge and was arrested after a brief struggle that ended when he was tazed by officers. After obtaining search warrants for the Galena Street building and attached garage and Waldow’s Dodge, police allegedly recovered a black Ruger handgun from the garage and located two knives from the Dodge, one with a 14-inch blade and the other with a 7-inch blade, according to the release.
Police later learned that on April 4, Waldow allegedly fired multiple rounds from a handgun in an alley in the direction of the 200 block of High Street, authorities said.
“The allegations that Mr. Waldow, a convicted felon, approached an innocent man sitting in his vehicle, pointed a loaded weapon at him, demanded the man’s cell phone and then proceeded to lead authorities on a dangerous high-speed chase that ended after he struck several vehicles and crashed into a power line pole are outrageous,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release.
“I have been sounding the alarm the past several years that it is only a matter of time before our luck runs out and someone is seriously injured or killed as a result of a defendant attempting to flee from the police.”
Waldow’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 27.