Arlington Hts. man charged in standoff with police

Authorities Friday filed charges against an Arlington Heights man whose standoff with police last week in a downtown Arlington Heights condominium resulted in a massive police presence to protect people in the area.

Jeffrey T. Sterner, 38, of the 100 block of West Wing Street was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm while his firearm owner's ID card was revoked, police said in a news release. Bond was set at $150,000 in a court hearing Friday afternoon and his next court date was set for June 7 in Rolling Meadows.

About 5:20 p.m. May 4, police responded to a report of shots fired on the sixth floor of a condominium building at 151 W. Wing Street. Police said a woman inside the unit was with her son who was despondent and threatening to take his life.

The woman called 911 and reported her son had fired a gun several times inside the unit, police said. The woman was able to disarm her son. The woman fled the condominium and was taken into protective custody by officers, while her son remained inside the unit.

As Sterner refused to exit the unit and it was unknown if he had additional firearms, police said, the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System was activated and dozens of heavily armed police from communities around the area flooded the downtown.

After numerous attempts to have the suspect exit without a response, entry was forced and the Sterner was taken into custody uninjured and transported to Northwest Community Hospital for an evaluation, police said.

The investigation found that Sterner fired several gunshots, including one that exited his condominium through the front door and came to rest in a neighbor's closet, police said. The neighbor was not home.

Sterner was released from the hospital and brought to the police station, where he was charged based on a review of the evidence by the Cook County state's attorney's office, police said.