Lombard police arrest man on assault charges after alleged ‘road rage’ incident

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A 23-year-old Chicago man with a lengthy criminal history in DuPage County is facing new aggravated assault charges after a road rage incident April 1 in Lombard in which he is accused of displaying a firearm.

Police said Jaris McCullum was the driver of a vehicle wanted in connection with an altercation with another driver near the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Main Street about 5 p.m. April 1.

McCullum was accused of displaying a handgun at another driver. When police searched McCullum’s vehicle, they recovered a BB gun “that closely resembled a firearm,” authorities said.

A passenger in McCullum’s vehicle was not charged and was let go.

McCullum was granted pretrial release and is due back in court May 1, court records show.

McCullum has faced numerous charges in DuPage County in the past, including a case in which he was arrested in 2019 for threatening a female student at Glenbard East High School in Lombard and her boyfriend.

In that case, police said he messaged the girl and threatened to shoot her boyfriend at the school and harm her.

While in custody at the DuPage County jail awaiting trial on felony charges related to the threats of violence at the school, McCullum picked up an additional felony charge for disassembling a sink and attempting to fashion a 12-inch piece of metal into a “shank,” according to court records. Deputies were able to intervene before McCullum was able to use the weapon.

McCullum was charged as a felon in possession of a weapon in prison. He pleaded guilty in the weapon case and was sentenced to time served and probation. He also pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge in connection with the threat to the Glenbard East student, court records show.

McCullum still owes almost $2,000 in court fees and fines from those cases, court records show.

Jake Griffin Daily Herald Media Group

Jake Griffin is the assistant managing editor for watchdog reporting at the Daily Herald