RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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A DuPage County judge Thursday ordered a man held in custody after he allegedly broke into a Darien home and fled with the injured homeowner's cellphone, sparking a high-speed police chase and a standoff that ended with his arrest in the village of Homer Glen earlier this week.
Michael Joseph Lahey, 32, appeared before DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden, who denied pre-trial release for Lahey, who was charged with two counts of home invasion, aggravated fleeing and eluding and misdemeanor theft, according to a statement from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.
Lahey, of the 13000 block of Maverick Trail in the village of Homer Glen, is due back in court on Aug. 31, according to the statement.
The situation unfolded about 2:20 p.m. Tuesday in the 1400 block of Sequoia Drive when a Darien homeowner called police after hearing the sound of breaking-glass and found Lahey standing outside of his home, according to the statement.
Lahey then allegedly hurled a hunk of broken glass at the homeowner, causing a “significant” laceration to the man's arm and a cut on his torso, the statement said. Lahey — who had burst into the home through the smashed out front window — also threw a stool at the victim before speeding away in a Ford Bronco SUV with the homeowner’s cell phone, according to the statement.
The homeowner — who escaped by running out the back door — was taken to a local hospital for a laceration to his left upper arm, a puncture wound to his left torso and bruising to his stomach.
Responding Darien police officers spotted Lahey fleeing in the SUV, sparking a high-speed, 11 mile-long pursuit of Lahey, who jumped a curb and plowed through a parking lot, reaching speeds in excess of 75 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone, according to the statement.
Additionally, Lahey sped through a construction zone while workers were on duty and drove into oncoming traffic on multiple occasions, according to the statement.
Officers terminated the chase out of safety concerns after entering Will County but a short while later, Lahey holed himself up at his own home in the 13,000 block of Maverick Trail, according to Darien Police Deputy Chief Austin Jump.
Will County sheriff’s deputies responded there around 4 p.m. to help other police with a “barricaded subject,” the office said on social media.
About 7 p.m. officers obtained a search warrant for his home, and began hours-long negotiations to try and have the situation end peacefully, Jump said.
But Lahey would not willingly come out of his home and DuPage and Will County SWAT teams breached the single-family home, and arrested Lahey at 11:20 p.m., Jump said.
Lahey, who was the only person inside the house, declined medical attention and a shelter-in-place for the area was lifted about 11 p.m., officials said.
When asked what could possibly have been Lahey’s motive, Jump indicated it was “not just” property crime but declined to elaborate.
“The type of aggressive, unpredictable and violent behavior that shattered an innocent man’s sense of safety and security in his own home and sent him to the hospital with serious injuries, as alleged in this case, has no place in civilized society and will not be tolerated in DuPage County,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlins said in the statement.
“The victim in this case has a long road to recovery ahead of him and I wish him well as he recovers both physically and emotionally,” said Berlin in the statement.
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