Nine people were arrested Monday night during a large “takeover” involving anywhere from 250 to 350 people in downtown Naperville, police said.
Groups began to gather about 5 p.m. mostly in the area of Washington Street between Chicago and Van Buren avenues, a police news release said. Five juveniles and four adult males were taken into custody and nearly three dozen citations issued before crowds dispersed about 11 p.m.
The juveniles arrested were:
A 17-year-old male from Plainfield arrested on a battery charge and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk;
A 15-year-old male from Bloomington arrested on a charge of obstructing identification and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk;
A 17-year-old male from Bolingbrook arrested on charges of battery, assault, illegal possession of cannabis and illegal possession of tobacco by a minor;
A 17-year-old male from Aurora arrested on charges of obstructing identification and criminal trespass to state-supported land;
A 17-year-old male from Romeoville arrested on charges of disobeying a peace officer and interfering with a peace officer and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk.
The four men arrested were:
Amaree J. Bivens, 23, of Naperville, arrested on a charge of obstructing a peace officer and on four outstanding warrants and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk;
Sudais Oyekanmi, 18, of Aurora, arrested on a charge of obstructing identification and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk;
Marshun J. Smith, 18, of Romeoville, arrested on a charge of attempted aggravated assault on a peace officer and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk;
Tyler L. Sims, 18, of Romeoville, arrested on charges of battery and obstructing a peace officer and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk.
Naperville police Cmdr. Rick Krakow declined to share more information on what led up to the arrests.
Naperville resident Thomas Burke said he witnessed part of Monday’s teen takeover. He had been downtown the entire day and noticed a heavier police presence about 3 p.m. As he was heading to dinner sometime between 5 and 6 p.m., he noticed a large number of juveniles congregating near the Riverwalk, he said.
Later, about 7:30 p.m., as he was sitting on a bench near Main Street and Jackson Avenue with his fiancée and a friend, he saw a fight break out between what appeared to be two groups of juveniles, he said.
“From what I understand, it’s like there’s a group of kids and there were like two or three teams that were against each other, and the one group was from Bolingbrook because they kept saying, ‘Come back to Bolingbrook, come back to Bolingbrook,’” Burke said.
While he did not know what the dispute was about, he said that every time the “teams” tried to fight each other, the police would break them up. He did not witness any arrests.
“Police were in really good spirits. They were still talking to the people, they were still keeping a light attitude with the kids,” Burke said. “Even when the kids would approach each other and try and like tangle, they would get in between them and tell them, ‘Hey, if you guys fight, you’re getting arrested.’”
About 8:30 p.m., Burke said he started walking north on Washington Street to go home. As he passed by the Five Guys restaurant, he noticed some juveniles being escorted into the back of a pickup truck.
“Some of the kids were going nuts. They would start piping out and then the one kid would get thrown in the back of pickup right in front of Rosebud and Five Guys,” he said.
Monday’s was not the first teen takeover to take place in Naperville this year.
In March, four juveniles were arrested on battery charges after a fight broke out during a downtown gathering involving about 300 people. In mid-May, during a smaller incident involving about 40 juveniles, one was charged with aggravated assault and another with obstructing a peace officer.
Last year, a 14-year-old was arrested for allegedly possessing a loaded, semiautomatic pistol during a gathering that involved about 150 people.
“We’ve been very clear on our stance,” Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said in the news release. “We want people to come to our city, patronize our businesses, and enjoy all the amenities Naperville has to offer. But if you break the law, there will be no warnings; there will be no second chances.”
cstein@chicagotribune.com
