2 men charged with stealing chainsaws, leading police on chase through Chicago suburbs
WHEATON, Ill. (CBS) -- Two Chicago men were ordered held Thursday after prosecutors said they stole two chainsaws from a truck in Lombard and then led police on a high-speed chase through multiple west and southwest suburbs.
Kawann Moore, 39, of the Washington Park neighborhood, and Richard Pegue, 35, of the Homan Square neighborhood, appeared in DuPage County court on Thursday. Both are charged with burglary and aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer.
At 12:17 p.m. Wednesday, Lombard police were called to 125 S. Lombard Ave. in that western suburb after two chainsaws – valued at about $200 each – were stolen, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's office. Soon afterward, an Oak Brook police officer found a vehicle involved in the burglary near 31st Street and Midwest Club Parkway in Oak Brook, prosecutors said.
When the officer began pursuing the vehicle – a gold minivan – its driver, Moore, began driving the wrong way into oncoming traffic near 39th Street and Glendenning Road, prosecutors said.
Moore drove at speeds of up to 120 mph on the Stevenson Expressway, almost hit a motorcyclist, and drove at 100 mph in a 35 mph zone on Ogden Avenue, prosecutors said.
Finally, both men bailed from the vehicle at 80th Place and Howard Avenue in Willow Springs, right outside a school where children were outside for recess, prosecutors said. Pegue was arrested near the school after a brief foot pursuit, prosecutors said.
Moore fled into a wooded area, but was found when a homeowner called 911 to report Moore had been hiding in his backyard where his 9-year-old child was playing, prosecutors said. The homeowner said he was holding Moore at gunpoint, prosecutors said.
A police helicopter, drones, and K-9's were used in the search for Moore.
Prosecutors believe Pegue stole the chainsaws, and then entered the minivan as Moore drove off.
"The dangerous behavior allegedly exhibited by the defendants in this case is extremely alarming. The allegations that in the middle of the afternoon these men traveled at 100 mph on a busy local road and 120 mph on the expressway, nearly hitting a motorcyclist, put the public and the officers involved at great risk," DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin said in a news release. "What I find particularly disturbing are the allegations that not only did the defendants flee on foot near a school while children were outside for recess, one of the defendants was caught in a residential backyard where a child was playing outside."
Moore and Pegue are due back in court on June 10, in front of DuPage County Judge Mia McPherson.
