Afer 14-minute chase, crash, Aurora man charged with attempted murder
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of John W. Sperry's name.
A 55-year-old Aurora man is charged with shooting a former roommate in the head late Saturday afternoon and fleeing from officers who attempted to capture him.
John W. Sperry of the 300 block of Grant Street, Aurora, was charged with single counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated fleeing and eluding police in connection with the shooting of a 56-year-old man at around 4:40 p.m.
His bail was set at $500,000 Sunday in weekend bond court.
He is currently being held in the Kane County Correctional Center in St. Charles.
Police said a preliminary investigation shows that Sperry drove his 1988 Cadillac Brougham to the victim's house in the 300 block of Jackson Street, spotted the victim in the driveway and called out to him.
He then produced a handgun and fired a single shot from his vehicle, striking the victim in the neck.
Sperry, police said, then drove away from the scene.
Responding officers spotted Sperry, the lone occupant in his vehicle, in the area of Ohio and Grove Streets and attempted to pull him over. Sperry refused to stop and proceeded to lead officers on a 14-minute, high-speed chase through a large swath of the city's east and northeast sides, at times exceeding 70 miles per hour.
The pursuit finally ended when Sperry lost control of his car and slammed into an electric pole at Claim Street and Lincoln Avenue. He was taken into custody without further incident.
The shooting victim was transported to an Aurora hospital where he is in stable condition and is expected to survive.
Sperry was treated and released from a different Aurora hospital, where he was taken for minor injuries that resulted from the crash.
There were no other injuries in connection with the shooting or pursuit.
Police said the shooting seems to have stemmed from a personal dispute Sperry and the victim were having. Police are not commenting on what the dispute was about.