Suspect arrested in Des Plaines liquor store robbery

Chicago police nabbed a man suspected in the weekend robbery of a Des Plaines liquor store with Taser prongs still embedded in his left torso.

Jeffrey Hersh, 38, of the 2200 Block of South Scott Street in Des Plaines, got stung Sunday by Des Plaines police officers who said he was resisting arrest before fleeing the scene. Hersh is suspected of stealing a couple of liquor bottles from Binny's Beverage Depot at 767 W. Golf Road.

Des Plaines police stopped Hersh's car near Oakton Street and Mount Prospect Road Sunday morning after a Binny's employee who had followed Hersh notified police of his location, a police report said.

Police said Hersh would not get out of the car and attempted to drive off when an officer reached inside to put the gear in park. The officer attempted to turn off the engine and wound up struggling with Hersh.

"He started to drag one of the officers and the officer Tased him," Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini said. "Once the jolt wore off, he still continued to fight."

Hersh fled and rammed his car a couple of times into a police squad car that had arrived to assist, police said.

Police briefly chased Hersh's car before he reached speeds of more than 100 miles an hour on Oakton Street to get away, Prandini said.

"We pursued for a short distance, but it was obvious he wasn't going to stop, so we didn't want to put any pedestrians or drivers in jeopardy," Prandini said. "We knew who he was because he had been arrested before."

Hersh previously had been arrested on charges of numerous retail thefts and drug offenses, Prandini said.

Later that day, Chicago police found Hersh passed out behind the wheel of his car, police said. He was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence.

Hersh was recovering Monday at the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago.

Prandini said upon release from the hospital Hersh will be charged with aggravated battery of a police officer, criminal damage to property for ramming a squad car, fleeing and eluding police, and theft.

"Most of the people that we've Tased become compliant," Prandini said. "It's like the worst pain you've ever felt in your life for a short period of time. Every once in a while you have somebody who fights through it."