Bartlett, Streamwood men charged in Elgin-Wisconsin chase

Two Elgin police officers suffered minor injuries as they tried to apprehend two men from Bartlett and Streamwood on burglary charges who then led police on a nearly two-hour chase that ended in Wisconsin early Saturday, police said.

Jacob Braden, 22, of the 800 block of Honey Locust Court in Bartlett was the driver of the suspect vehicle, police said. He was charged with burglary, aggravated battery to a peace officer, criminal damage to state supported property and aggravated fleeing and eluding.

Kevin Gorman, 30, of the 1200 block of Lincoln Court in Streamwood was the passenger in the vehicle, according to police. Elgin police charged him with burglary, aggravated resisting arrest and criminal damage to state supported property.

Braden and Gorman also face additional charges in Wisconsin and will have court appearances in Racine County Monday for the Wisconsin charges.

The Racine County Sheriff's Department charged Braden with fleeing and eluding officers as a vehicle operator, receiving stolen property and speeding in excess of 65 mph. The department charged Gorman with receiving stolen property.

Elgin police responded to a call at about 2:42 a.m. about a burglary in progress at Sam's Club at 1000 S. Randall Road and saw the two men getting into a pickup truck in an apparent attempt to flee, Elgin Police Lt. Dan O'Shea said in a news release.

As one officer tried to block the passenger, the truck drove off, knocking the officer out of the truck and onto the ground. The truck then struck a second officer as well as an Elgin police squad car, the release said.

The officers, both nearly 20-year veterans, were treated for minor leg injuries and released from an area hospital, Elgin Police Cmdr. Glenn Theriault said.

“Having seen the video, it's extremely fortunate (their injuries were minor),” Theriault said. “They were very close to being severely injured.”

Elgin police chased the truck west on Bowes Road, where the driver eventually made a U-turn back to Randall Road north, then east on Route 20 onto the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway to I-290 into Chicago, and then north on I-94, Theriault said.

“We had the Illinois State Police helping, Chicago (police) helping, and at various times every agency in between helped us. It was truly a cooperative effort,” Theriault said. “Fortunately given the time of day and the roads we were on, it was not a significant danger to the public, which is something we always consider.”

Elgin police discontinued the active chase on I-94 in Lake County once it became clear the officers had suffered minor injuries, he said.

Wisconsin State Patrol picked up the pursuit at 4 a.m. at the state line northbound on I-94, said Wisconsin State Patrol Sgt. Wendy Younglove.

The chase finally ended when the Racine County Sheriff's Department put spike strips on the road that shredded the truck's tires. The truck pulled over and stopped on the exit 11 off ramp, she said. The two men were taken into custody without incident at 4:20 a.m., and are being held in Racine County jail, she said.

The men are due before a Racine County judge at 2:30 p.m. Monday, she said.

The Kane County State's Attorney's office will seek extradition of the suspects to Illinois when deemed appropriate, officials said.

Daily Herald staff writer Eric Peterson contributed to this report.