Juvenile suspect released from hospital, ordered detained
A Cook County juvenile who is accused of burglary and assaulting a police officer in Westmont has been ordered detained.
Judge Anthony Coco ordered the juvenile be held until at least his next court date, which is set for Jan. 27, according to a news release from the DuPage County state's attorney's office.
At 4:27 a.m. Dec. 31, Westmont police received reports of a burglary in progress at the Laurel BMW Dealership on Ogden Avenue.
Two police officers saw the juvenile and Angel Martin, 23, of Dolton, leaving the dealership showroom and entering a white Acura with two more suspects, Semaje Wheeler, 18, of Chicago, and Brian Garrett, 19, of Chicago, authorities said.
The officers drew their weapons and ordered the four to exit the vehicle.
When the juvenile drove toward one of the officers, the officer fired, grazing Martin and striking the juvenile in the chest, the news release said.
The suspects fled east on Ogden Avenue to Route 83, ultimately crashing the car near 22nd Street in Oak Brook and trying to flee on foot, according to police.
Police later determined that the Acura had been stolen on Dec. 21, the news release. Multiple guns were found at or near the vehicle, three of which were fully automatic, authorities said.
The juvenile was hospitalized until Monday, when he was discharged into police custody on charges of armed violence, burglary, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and aggravated assault on a police officer.
On Jan. 1, bail was set at $1 million for Martin and $750,000 for Wheeler and Garrett. Each has been charged with armed violence, burglary and possession of a stolen motor vehicle. All three will be arraigned Jan. 24. They each face a possible sentence of up to thirty years if convicted.
The discharge of the officer's firearm is still under investigation.
"Every day, law enforcement officers face the dangerous unknown of whether or not they will be forced to fire their service weapon in performance of their duty," Westmont Police Chief Jim Gunther said in the news release. "On the last day of the year, 2021, one of our officers had to make that difficult decision. We are all very grateful that none of our officers were injured that evening."