120-mile chase ends in Elburn
The suspect in a northwest Indiana bank robbery who led police on a 120-mile high-speed chase that ended in a quiet residential enclave in Elburn on Friday apparently was trying to go home, police said.
The driver of a tan 1999 Chevrolet Suburban SUV — who, authorities say, led police down I-294, I-88, Route 31 and through the streets of North Aurora and Batavia — eventually made it to Hughes Road and Oakwood Drive in Elburn, where he drove through backyards, jumped out and ran into his house on Wise Street, according to a neighbor.
“All of a sudden I look out and I see a bunch of police cars coming down the street,” said Pam Sorenson, who lives three houses away from where she says the man got out of his car and ran inside. “The cars kept coming. Then I saw them all jump out. The way the cops were all running, I knew something was going on.”
The suspect was identified by the Kane County sheriff’s office Friday evening as David Ziesel, 32, of the 1100 block of Wise Street.
He is accused of an armed robbery about 2 p.m. at the LaPorte Savings Bank in LaPorte, Ind., according to Joan Hyde, a spokeswoman with the FBI’s Chicago office.
He was followed by dozens of squad cars from Indiana and Illinois, as well as a police helicopter. Some reports indicate the suspect was throwing money out of his window as he drove.
Authorities said after Ziesel exited I-88 at Route 31, police lost sight of the SUV until a Kane County sheriff’s deputy spotted the vehicle speeding west on Main Street near Deerpath Road in Batavia Township. He continued fleeing until stopping in a neighbor’s yard at 3:26 p.m., police said.
Running through several backyards, Ziesel ran to the front of his house and into his open garage, where he was taken into custody by members of the Kane County sheriff’s office, Kane County Forest Preserve police and Elburn Police Department, authorities said.
Kane County Lt. Pat Gengler said the suspect chose the wrong time to flee from police, since it was a shift change in Kane County and there were two full shifts involved in the pursuit and response.
No injuries were reported.
Ziesel was being taken back to LaPorte County, Ind., Friday night for processing.
In Kane County, he was charged with aggravated fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer — a felony — and resisting a peace office — a misdemeanor.
His car was in possession of Kane County authorities.
Sorenson said Ziesel had just moved into the neighborhood a couple of months ago.
“His house is all dark all the time. He doesn’t open the blinds,” Sorenson said. “Some people just don’t want to be neighborly.”