A police chase and crash ended with the arrest of three people, including a juvenile, who are believed to be connected to armed robberies and a home invasion in multiple Chicago suburbs, with at least one incident leaving a woman tied up and held at gunpoint as she unloaded groceries from her car.
The Will County Sheriff’s office said an area-wide alert was issued just before 3 p.m. Thursday following an armed robbery that took place in the 1200 block of Coventry Drive in Lemont.
The vehicle in the alert, a black Acura, matched the description of one that was used in a home invasion a day earlier in Homer Glen.
There, officials said a 73-year-old woman had pulled into her garage and was unloading groceries when someone near the side of her home came into the garage and held her at gunpoint. A second person then exited a dark-colored Acura, which the woman recognized had been following her as she traveled home, and the pair forced her inside her home, tied her to a chair using rope and telephone cords and robbed her, authorities said. Minutes after the robbery the woman’s bank account had a $2,000 withdrawal.
Details surrounding what happened during the Lemon incident were not immediately available but Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said the incident was “similar” to what happened in her village.
After the alert was issued Thursday, Joliet police spotted the vehicle traveling on McDonough Street and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The driver fled from officers, sparking a “coordinated multi-agency pursuit,” according to the Will County Sheriff’s office.
The vehicle ultimately crashed near Route 52 and Rowell Avenue in unincorporated Will County and all three people inside fled on foot, police said.
Officers set up a perimeter of the area and all three suspects were eventually taken into custody, police said. Two firearms were also recovered in the area by a Joliet Police Department K9 unit.
One of the suspects was transported to a local hospital for evaluation and the remaining two were taken to the Will County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Complex for questioning, the agency said.
Police noted that all three suspects, including a juvenile, were from Chicago and “have extensive criminal histories, including prior weapons-related offenses.”
Charges were pending as of Thursday evening.
“The Will County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Joliet Police Department and all assisting agencies for their outstanding teamwork in apprehending these dangerous, out-of-town offenders,” the department said. “Public safety remains our top priority, and we are grateful for the partnership and swift actions of all involved.”
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