Park Forest, IL—(ENEWSPF)— Police located a suspect from Gary, IN, using a department drone in late December. According to police, the man allegedly fled into the woods near North Arbor Trail and Sycamore Drive. Officers recovered a number of weapons and rounds of ammunition, leading to multiple felony weapons and other charges.
Police arrested Keoni F. Ellis, 26, of the 1000 block of Van Buren St., Gary, IN, on December 22 and charged him with two felony counts of possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, fleeing/attempting to elude an officer, resisting, criminal damage to property, and criminal trespass.
Caller: Man Allegedly Kicked in Back Door of a Home
An officer responded to the first block of S. Arbor Trl. on December 22 at 6:45 PM to investigate a report of a burglary in progress. SouthCom Dispatch advised police that the caller reported a man who allegedly kicked in the back door of a home in the first block of S. Arbor Trl., police said. The man arrived in a black Chevrolet Trailblazer with tinted windows, according to the caller. The caller alleged that the man was a squatter, according to police.
Upon arrival, two officers were traveling eastbound on Sycamore Drive in fully marked police vehicles. SouthCom Dispatch advised that the Chevrolet left the parking lot as officers were arriving. Moments later, one of the officers saw a black Chevrolet SUV heading westbound on Sycamore Drive. The officer blocked off the westbound lanes with his patrol vehicle.
SUV Reportedly Travels in Reverse Away from Police
The Chevy pulled alongside the officer’s patrol vehicle. The officer exited his vehicle and told the driver to stop. The driver allegedly put the Chevrolet into reverse and began backing away from police at a high rate of speed, according to the report. An officer activated his patrol vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens.
The Chevrolet continued to travel in reverse, southeast, into a grassy area off Sycamore Dr. near North Arbor Trail, according to police. There, it stopped near a tree line. Police saw the driver exit the vehicle and run into the tree line, according to the report.
Officer Deploys Department Drone
An officer exited his patrol vehicle and approached the Chevrolet along with two other officers who had since arrived on the scene. Police cleared the vehicle. One officer remained with the SUV. Another officer arrived on the scene and deployed the Park Forest Police Department drone.
Two other officers began checking the area for the driver. One of them saw a subject running eastbound near the rear of S. Arbor Trail residences. Police ran towards the last known direction of travel but lost sight of the subject. The officer operating the drone advised that he located a subject walking and running west of the S. Arbor Trail homes. Police ran towards the last known direction of travel but lost sight of the subject.
The drone operator continued to provide updates on the subject’s location. He advised that the subject went westbound into the woods in the area, according to police. Police entered the woods and continued to search for the subject. The drone operator advised that he still had a view of the subject and directed officers to his location.
Two officers located the subject deep in the woods in the area, at which time one of them pointed his service weapon at the man and ordered him not to move, according to police. The subject raised his hands and complied with the officer’s instructions, according to police. Police took him into custody and identified him as the registered owner of the Chevrolet, Keoni F. Ellis, police said.
Coy’s Towing towed the vehicle to the Park Forest Police Department grot. There, one officer began an inventory search of the vehicle. He found a safe in the back seat. This officer also located a black duffel bag in the trunk.
Inside the duffel bag, police allegedly found:
- A tan and black 9 mm handgun with a loaded ProMag drum magazine inserted with 44 live CBC 9 mm rounds. There was no round in the chamber. The weapon’s serial numbers were defaced, according to police.
- A gold and black 9 mm handgun with a loaded blue magazine inserted that had 17 live Sig 9 mm rounds. No rounds were chambered, and the officer found the serial number defaced, according to the report.
- A black .233/.556 short barrel AR 15 rifle with a loaded magazine inserted that held 59 live PSD .223 caliber rounds. No round was chambered. This weapon had a serial number and, after inquiry, returned clear, no record.
- A blue .223 magazine containing 19 live Hornady .223 caliber rounds.
- Five ETS group magazines were not loaded.
- Sixty-two loose rounds in the duffel bag: 22 live Hornady .556 caliber rounds, 20 live F. C. 9 mm rounds, and 20 live Federal 10 mm rounds.
- One black 9 mm ETS group magazine containing 17 live rounds, 12 F. C., and five Hornady.
- A black 9 mm Glock magazine containing eleven 9 mm rounds, eight Sig rounds, and three Hornady.
Police also recovered narcotics and paraphernalia from the residence on S. Arbor Trl. that the man allegedly broke into. These consisted of four large mushroom grow kit bags, six spore syringes, two empty syringes, six separate hypodermic needles, 15 Myco Labs agar plates, one glass jar containing 27 g of Psilocybin (magic mushrooms), one glass jar containing 13 g of a green leafy substance (suspected cannabis), two glass jars containing an unknown brown liquid, and one digital scale.
