Juvenile charged with leading cops on high-speed chase detained until next court appearance

A Chicago juvenile accused of leading police on a high-speed chase in a stolen car will be detained until at least his next court appearance, authorities said.

The juvenile, a 16-year-old male, appeared at a detention hearing March 19 in front of Judge Demetrios Panoushis. He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle and one count of misdemeanor reckless driving, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

About 6:16 p.m. March 17, police located a car, a Hyundai Elantra, that was reported stolen out of Bellwood the previous day. Police pursued the Elantra, allegedly driven by the juvenile, and during the pursuit, the juvenile allegedly led officers from multiple jurisdictions on a high-speed chase onto Interstate 290 into Cook County, at which time a helicopter began following the Elantra, according to the release.

During the pursuit, the juvenile allegedly drove his vehicle into oncoming traffic and disobeyed control devices. Police were able to stop the car at which time the juvenile allegedly fled on foot. He was taken into custody at this time after a brief foot pursuit, according to the release.

“The increasing trend of suspects fleeing from police is extremely dangerous and must stop,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. ”In DuPage County, we will use every tool at our disposal to catch those who flee, including a helicopter, as in this case. The allegations that this juvenile led authorities on a high-speed chase during rush hour are very serious as he put not only himself at risk, but also put the police officers involved and countless other motorists at great risk. Thankfully, no innocent motorists or bystanders were injured or worse as a result of this juvenile’s alleged behavior.”

“The reality is that we are seeing so many suspects flee from the police and we won’t accept that behavior in Oak Brook,” Oak Brook Chief of Police Brian Strockis said in the release. “We have undercover, proactive police officers patrolling daily to keep our community safe. This case was a perfect example of utilizing technology, collaboration of multiple police agencies and air support to get the suspect in custody.”

The juvenile’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 24.