East Dundee cop turns self in on Carpentersville gun charge
An off-duty East Dundee police sergeant on administrative leave turned himself in on a felony weapons charge after police said he carried a loaded shotgun Saturday on to a sidewalk in Carpentersville while intoxicated, Carpentersville Cmdr. Timothy Bosshart said.
Sgt. Michael Seyller, 39, of the 6500 block of Pine Hollow Road, Carpentersville, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and released Wednesday after posting 10 percent of his $30,000 bail, according to police and court records. His court date has not been set.
Attempts to reach Seyller were unsuccessful and it was not immediately clear if he was represented by an attorney.
According to Bosshart, Seyller called the police at 11:49 p.m. Saturday to report a loud party in the 6500 block of Pine Hollow Road.
Once police arrived, they observed a visibly intoxicated Seyller carrying a shotgun outside, Bosshart said. Three officers took the shotgun away from him, discovered it was loaded and contacted the state’s attorney’s office to approve charges, Bosshart said. The shotgun was a Remington 870, according to court records.
The police report did not indicate why three officers were required, whether Seyller pointed the shotgun at or otherwise threatened anyone.
A judge issued a warrant for Seyller’s arrest Tuesday and set his bail at $30,000.
Seyller turned himself in at 10 a.m. Wednesday and police gave him a court order to give up his FOID card and weapons to Carpentersville police, Bosshart said.
Seyller joined the East Dundee police force in August 1999 and was on administrative leave at the time of his Carpentersville arrest, East Dundee Police Chief Terry Mee said.
Mee confirmed Seyller has been stripped of his police powers but would not say when he was placed on leave or why it occurred.
Seyller makes $84,762 a year and is getting paid while on leave, Mee said.
Aggravated unlawful use of a weapon is a Class 4 felony. If Seyller is found guilty of the charge, he could spend up to three years in prison, but probation also is an option.
Before he joined the force, Seyller was arrested in Hampshire on a DUI charge on April 4, 1999, after he was pulled over for going 86 mph is a 55 mph zone, according to court records. Seyller, who lived in Hampshire at the time, refused field sobriety tests. The officer who stopped Seyller indicated that Seyller’s vehicle crossed the centerline of Route 72 for 10 seconds and almost hit a stop sign when turning onto Centennial Drive off Route 72, records show.
Seyller pleaded guilty to speeding 31 to 39 mph over the limit, as well as driving too fast for conditions, records show. The DUI charge was dismissed by prosecutors.
Seyller also was ticketed by the Kane County Sheriff’s Department in July 1997 for going 31 to 39 mph over the speed limit, records show. He pleaded guilty and paid a $190 fine, records show.
Ÿ Daily Herald staff writer Harry Hitzeman contributed to this story.