Second Suspect Caught In Wilmington, After Police Chase Ended In Crash
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A second suspect is in custody, following a massive manhunt in southwest suburban Wilmington, after a high-speed chase ended in a crash overnight.
Wilmington Police Chief Phillip Arnold said it all started with an armed carjacking in Calumet City around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Around 1 a.m., Dolton police spotted the stolen vehicle and began chasing the car. Illinois State Police joined the chase down Interstate 57 before the suspects entered a residential area in Wilmington.
The suspects crashed on a dead-end road near Magarette and Charlotte in Wilmington and took off on foot.
Arnold said one suspect broke into a nearby house where a homeowner fired a warning shot at him.
"I grabbed my pistol, and called out 'If you're in the house, if somebody's in the house, leave now.' He hollered back, 'I'm not leaving,' so I fired one shot, and then I said, 'I'm won't fire another shot if you leave now,'" the homeowner said. "He said, 'I'm not leaving.' I said, 'Just go out the way you came, and I won't shoot again.' He said, 'Well, I don't want to die tonight' and I said, 'Well, you shouldn't be in somebody's house,' and then he took off out the back door."
Police later found that suspect hiding under a trampoline in a yard next door. Neither the suspect nor the homeowner were injured.
A second suspect remained on the loose for several hours Wednesday morning, but he was later found hiding in an abandoned building more than a mile away from the scene of the crash.
"One person let us know that they saw a door that kept opening and closing in this abandoned building, almost like a barn," Arnold said.
A Will County SWAT team surrounded the building, and found the suspect inside. The man was arrested without incident. He was not armed, and Arnold said police were still searching for the gun used in the carjacking.
Wilmington residents had been advised to stay indoors while police were searching for the suspect, but Arnold said that shelter in place request was lifted around 10 a.m. Local schools originally planned a late start due to the search, but later cancelled classes altogether for Wednesday.
Arnold said Wilmington police were working with Calumet City police and the Will County State's Attorney's office to file charges against both suspects.
