Three Cook County men have been charged with weapons offenses after a police pursuit Wednesday evening on Interstate 88 that ended in Aurora, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The three men — Cameron McClellan, 27, of Chicago; Troy Hughes, 23, of Bellwood; and Dante Williams, 23, of Chicago — have all been denied pre-trial release, according to a news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
On Wednesday, Bellwood police officers initiated a pursuit of a green Jeep suspected of being connected to a shooting, the news release said. At around 5:50 p.m. an officer with the Oak Brook Police Department observed the Jeep on Interstate 88 being followed by Bellwood and Hillside squad cars and joined the pursuit, officials said.
At that point, the Jeep, which officials said was driven by McClellan, allegedly reached speeds of around 100 mph on the shoulder of I-88, the release said. During the pursuit, the Oak Brook officer reportedly observed two firearms thrown from the passenger side of the vehicle. During an investigation, Naperville police officers recovered a Glock 43X that was reported stolen out of Riverdale and a loaded Ruger .223 rifle, officials said.
During the pursuit, the Jeep allegedly reached speeds of around 115 mph and was seen driving on both the left and right side shoulders and weaving in and out of traffic before exiting I-88 onto Orchard Road in Kane County, the news release said, ultimately driving south into the back yard of a home in the 6S400 block of Shagbark Lane in an unincorporated area near Aurora.
It’s alleged that Hughes and Williams at some point exited the Jeep and fled on foot, the release stated.
McClellan was located a short time later in the Jeep in the 100 block of North Deerpath and taken into custody, officials said. Authorities ultimately found Hughes in the basement of a home on Blackberry Ridge Drive in Aurora – just a short distance from Shagbark Lane – and Williams seated in a work van on Blackberry Ridge Drive, according to the release.
The Aurora Police Department, in a statement posted on Facebook, said that officers from several agencies established a perimeter in the area around the Blackberry Ridge neighborhood as the suspects attempted to evade police.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said in the news release that the Oak Brook, Bellwood, Hillside and Aurora police departments were all involved in the handling of the incident, as were the Kane County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police.
McClellan has since been charged with one count of armed violence and two counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding, while Hughes and Williams have both been charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and one count of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, the news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said. The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office has also filed one count of home invasion with a dangerous weapon and one count of trespass to residence against Hughes, per the release.
The three men had their first appearance in court on Thursday morning, the news release said. Their next court date is scheduled for April 6.
