A DuPage County judge granted the State’s motion to deny pretrial release for a convicted felon accused of leading police on a high-speed chase while in possession of a loaded handgun, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berling and Oak Brook Police Chief Brian Strockis announced.
According to a news release, Quinton Hicks, 38, of the 7900 block of South Marshfield Avenue, Chicago, was charged with one count of armed habitual criminal (class X felony), one count of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (class 2 felony), one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer (class 4 felony) and multiple misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses.
Hicks’ first court appearance was on Sunday, where Judge Timothy McJoynt granted the state’s motion
Around 2:56 a.m. Jan. 27, an Oak Brook police officer on patrol saw a vehicle, allegedly driven by Hicks, on 22nd Street and Midwest Road allegedly traveling 55 mph in a 35-mph zone, the release said. When the officer activated his emergency lights and sirens, instead of pulling over, Hicks allegedly sped up reaching speeds of about 60 mph and ignored a red light at a traffic control device.
Hicks allegedly continued to evade the officer reaching speeds of approximately 70 mph in a 35-mph zone until another officer successfully spiked his tires at Spring Road and 31st Street, according to the release. Authorities allege that Hicks continued to drive on flat tires and entered I-294 where he reached speeds of approximately 80 mph until his vehicle became disabled in Northlake.
Hicks was taken into custody at this time and transported to a hospital for medical attention after he told officers he had just ingested ecstasy, the release said. When searching Hicks’ vehicle, officers allegedly located a loaded SCCY 380 Handgun with one bullet in the chamber in the glove compartment. Hicks does not possess a FOID card or CCL.
“In DuPage County, we take incidents of fleeing from the police very seriously,” Berlin said in a statement. “What is more alarming in this case is that, as a convicted felon, Mr. Hicks is prohibited from owning a firearm, yet he was allegedly found to be in possession of a loaded gun at the time of his arrest. Thankfully, no innocent motorists were injured or worse as a result of Mr. Hicks’ alleged actions.”
“Pursuits are inherently dangerous, and we train our officers to carefully assess the risks and benefits before initiating one,” Strockis said in a statement. “However, there is some misconception by criminals that if they flee from the police they will not be pursued and that is simply not accurate in Oak Brook. We have had numerous pursuits for various offenses which ultimately led to weapons offenses and taking illegal firearms off the street.”
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Hicks’ next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 26, 2024, for arraignment in front of Judge Michael Reidy.