Chicago 16-year-old caught with stolen car in Minooka

Grundy County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 16-year-old from Chicago for possession of a silver Kia Optima that had been registered stolen in Cedar Rapids earlier in the day Wednesday.

The sheriff’s office said in a Monday news release that deputies were alerted at 9:56 p.m. Wednesday, after the driver fled the Illinois State Police at mile marker 80 on Interstate 80. Deputies and Morris Police set up at mile marker 112 to locate the vehicle, and a deputy found it heading east, where the vehicle fled again. Deputies and the Morris Police followed the vehicle until it stopped at the intersection of Ridge Road and Mondamin St. in Minooka, and the driver was taken into custody.

The driver was a 16-year-old male from the 7700 block of Cornell Ave. in Chicago. He was released to his mother, and he will be charged by the Grundy County Juvenile Probation Department with aggravated fleeing and eluding and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. He was also cited for traffic offenses by the Illinois State Police.

The driver also has three open cases in DuPage County for possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated battery and criminal trespass to a vehicle and criminal damage to property.