Cortez C. Smith (inset left) and Stavon T. Bell (inset right) are charged with burglary and theft and were released with pre-trial conditions after police say they tried to steal golf carts from the Lake Bluff Golf Club, 355 West Washington Avenue in Lake Bluff, early Friday and fled in two U-Haul trucks, one of which is seen in police dashcam video. | Background Photo: Lake Bluff Police Department; Insets: Provided
Two men were charged and released from custody after police say they tried to steal golf carts from a golf course in Lake Bluff early Friday and fled in U-Haul trucks, one of which a police helicopter tracked to Chicago.
Cortez C. Smith, 27, of Chicago, was charged with two counts of burglary and one count of theft of property valued between $10,000 and $100,000, all Class 2 felonies, along with one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, a Class A misdemeanor.
Stavon T. Bell, 24, of Chicago, was charged with two counts of burglary and one count of theft of property valued between $10,000 and $100,000, all Class 2 felonies.
A Lake Bluff Police Department officer was patrolling near the Lake Bluff Golf Club, 355 West Washington Avenue in Lake Bluff, around 12:10 a.m. Friday when he saw two golf carts being placed next to two 26-foot U-Haul trucks.
Lake Bluff Deputy Police Chief Erik Gehrke said the suspects had already spotted the squad car as the officer drove toward the golf carts.
A group of people ran from the golf carts to the U-Haul trucks and drove off, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Lourdes Jimenez said.
Jimenez said the officer turned on his lights and siren and tried to follow the trucks.
The drivers refused to stop and the officer ended the pursuit, Gehrke said.
Gehrke said police lost sight of the trucks near Route 176 and Interstate 94.
Officers were able to get the trucks’ license plates and sent out a notice to other police departments, Jimenez said.
The Lake Bluff Police Department put out a broadcast over the Illinois State Police Emergency Radio Network (ISPERN) about the two trucks, which were both 26-foot U-Haul trucks with Arizona license plates, according to police radio traffic.
One truck was last seen heading south on the Edens Expressway from Route 41 and the other was last seen heading south on Interstate 94 from Route 176 with its rear door open and its cargo area empty, according to radio traffic.
A Cook County Sheriff’s Office helicopter reported around 12:38 a.m. that it may have spotted one of the trucks heading south on Interstate 90 near Ogden Avenue in Chicago.
Police used a license plate reader to confirm it was one of the trucks wanted out of Lake Bluff as it traveled south in the express lanes of Interstate 94 near 43rd Street.
The helicopter crew followed the truck south on Interstate 94 and onto southbound Interstate 57, where the driver got off and back on the interstate at 111th Street and again at 127th Street, running a red light at Paulina Street.
Police set up spike strips on the 147th Street exit ramp but the driver turned around on the ramp, drove the wrong way and got back onto southbound Interstate 57, according to radio traffic.
Markham police officers had spike strips ready at the 159th Street exit but the truck stayed on Interstate 57 before turning onto eastbound Interstate 80 and then northbound Interstate 294.
Police dashcam video shows golf carts in a parking lot at the Lake Bluff Golf Club, 355 West Washington Avenue in Lake Bluff, as an officer drives toward them and suspects flee in two U-Haul trucks early Friday, leading to the arrests of two men who were later charged with burglary and theft and released. | Photo: Lake Bluff Police Department
The driver then got back on Interstate 57 heading north and got off at 119th Street around 1:11 a.m.
The truck was abandoned in the 1500 block of West 120th Street in Chicago and two men got out and ran, according to radio traffic.
One of the men ran south through yards and an alley, jumped a fence and tried to hide under a car and then in a gangway between homes in the 12000 block of South Ashland Avenue as the helicopter crew guided officers on the ground, radio traffic indicated.
The helicopter crew reported a brief heat signature under a tarp next to an air conditioning unit behind one of the homes and officers took one of the men into custody moments later, around 1:18 a.m.
The man taken into custody had keys to the U-Haul truck on him, radio traffic indicated.
Chicago police officers later caught the second man and both were brought to the Lake Bluff Police Department, Gehrke said.
Jimenez said Chicago police officers found two wooden planks and bolt cutters inside the U-Haul truck.
Police were still investigating Friday whether the suspects were able to steal any golf carts but did not believe they took any, Gehrke said.
The second U-Haul truck had not been found as of Friday afternoon and neither truck had been reported stolen at the time of the incident, Gehrke said.
Smith and Bell appeared for First Appearance Court hearings Friday afternoon where Lake County Judge Patricia Cornell appointed the Lake County Public Defender’s Office to represent both men and found probable cause for the charges.
Cornell and prosecutors said the charges against both men are non-detainable under the Illinois SAFE-T Act, which forced the judge to release them pending trial with pre-trial conditions.
Jimenez asked for Smith to be placed on Level 4 pre-trial monitoring and the defense did not object.
Cornell said Smith’s pre-trial risk assessment gave him a failure-to-appear score of three and a new criminal activity score of six, flagged him for new violent criminal activity and suggested Level 4 monitoring.
Cornell released Smith on Level 4 pre-trial conditions, ordering him to have no contact with Bell or the Lake Bluff Park District golf course and to follow a curfew set by pre-trial services that cannot exceed 11 hours a day.
Cornell noted during the hearing that Smith has two other pending cases, one in Will County and one in Cook County.
Bell was released on Level 2 pre-trial conditions as recommended by his pre-trial risk assessment and agreed to by both sides.
Cornell ordered Bell to have no contact with Smith or the golf course and to follow a curfew set by pre-trial services that cannot exceed 11 hours a day.
Cornell set preliminary hearings for both men for December 17.