Man accused of home invasion in Darien

A Homer Glen man is being detained pretrial on charges he broke into a Darien house and attacked a man, then fled from police in a high-speed chase.

Michael Lahey, 32, of the 13000 block of Maverick Trail, appeared before DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden Thursday morning.

He is charged with two counts of home invasion causing injury and one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding, all felonies, and one count of misdemeanor theft.

Around 2:23 p.m. Tuesday, Darien police were called to a house in the 1400 block of Sequoia Lane. The homeowner said a man had broken into his house via a window, and threw pieces of glass at the man, injuring his arm and torso. He also threw a stool at the man and threatened to kill him, according to a petition for detention filed by DuPage County prosecutors.

Authorities said Lahey took the man’s cellphone. The man escaped the house and asked nearby roofers to call police.

Lahey drove over a curb, through a parking lot, through a construction zone and into oncoming traffic, reaching speeds of more than 75 mph, according to DuPage County prosecutors. Officers ended the pursuit after 11 miles due to safety concerns.

Officers determined Lahey was the suspect and SWAT teams from DuPage and Will counties went to his house. The petition says there was a standoff, and that Lahey damaged a police drone, before the SWAT teams deployed tear gas, entered and removed him.

According to the petition for detention, Lahey told police that he believed the Darien home had belonged to his late grandmother. The petition also states Lahey told the homeowner that the homeowner had stolen the home from Lahey’s grandmother.

The man needed 15 external stitches and an unknown number of internal stitches to close his wounds, according to the petition.

The petition also alleges that Lahey has been treated for bipolar disorder, but had stopped taking medication for it, according to a relative of Lahey’s. Court records indicate Lahey had been jailed for several days in July after missing a court date for a 2023 Naperville case, where he was accused of biting a police officer’s finger.

“Based upon the defendant's criminal history, statements made by the defendant to the victim, the defendant's interactions with law enforcement, and the Court's personal observations of the defendant in court, there is evidence of a psychiatric or psychological component which tends to indicate a violent, abusive, or assaultive nature,” Dieden wrote in his detention order.

Lahey’s next court date is Aug. 31.

ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com