Parolee convicted of weapons offense, other crimes in wake of Aurora chase
A 28-year-old man who was on parole when Aurora police said he threw a gun from his car during a chase while on the way to make a heroin deal was found guilty Wednesday of several felonies.
A Kane County jury convicted Derrick L. Givens, of DeKalb, of armed violence, aggravated fleeing and eluding, and being an armed habitual criminal.
The jury found him not guilty of a second count of armed violence, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance, court records show.
Aurora police stopped Givens shortly before 5:30 p.m. Dec. 9, 2017, and recognized he was on parole. Givens sped off and, after a short chase, he crashed his 2007 Saturn Ion into a curb near Durham and West Upper Brandon drives, hit a tree and rolled the car on its side.
Police said they pulled men from the vehicle and found heroin under where Givens had been seated.
Police found a loaded Smith & Wesson 9 mm semi-automatic pistol near the crash scene, and witness in the car told police he saw Givens reach into his jacket and throw an object out of the car.
Givens was on parole at the time for a 2016 conviction for a home invasion that occurred in 2014 in Aurora.
He was also convicted in 2008 of aggravated discharge of a firearm, from a 2007 offense in Aurora.
An armed habitual criminal is a person found in possession of a firearm after being convicted of two or more forcible felonies.
Givens has been held at the Kane County jail since his arrest, and his bail was revoked. He faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and is due in court again Jan. 16.