Page 28 - June2021

Chicago Lodge 7 Officer Awards
On Feb. 19, 2021, an armed vehicu- lar hijacking occurred at 3747 W. Chi- cago Ave. The victim was attacked from behind, while the offender demanded their car keys. The victim complied, handing over their car keys, but the offender still fired multiple gunshots at them. The offender fled the scene with a tail car following behind. Area 4 Detectives and the Vehicle Hijacking Task Force began tracking the vehicle, which was located in the 16th District. The offender fled from the Task Force and crashed. The armed offenders hi- jacked another vehicle from two fe- male victims (both retired law enforce- ment) and fled into Park Ridge.
The Task Force learned the license plate of the original offending vehicle, a rental car that was able to be tracked. The Task Force followed the vehicle, utilizing air support, and located the vehicle parked in a motel parking lot in Villa Park. The Task Force set up surveillance, watching the vehicle and motel room. A female offender was placed in custody before she could en- ter the motel room. The Task Force an- nounced their office, and the male of- fender inside began threatening to do harm to himself and the law enforce-
ment outside. The offender’s actions created an HBT incident, and DuPage SWAT was notified. SWAT set up a pe- rimeter and established control of the scene.
Area 4 detectives and Villa Park Po- lice began writing a search warrant for the motel room, but after several hours of negotiating, the offender — know- ing he was outgunned — surrendered. A lawful search of the motel room was conducted, and two disassembled handguns were discovered hidden throughout the room. Over the next
48 hours, extensive interviews were conducted with victims, witnesses and offenders. The male offender was charged with aggravated vehicular hi- jacking, and the female co-offender turned witness against him. The Du- Page County State’s Attorney’s Office and Villa Park PD are awaiting lab re- sults for additional UUW charges.
It is with great appreciation that Chicago Lodge 7 presents these offi- cers with the Distinguished Service Award.
Detective Robert Smith, Star #20648 Detective Matthew McDonough, Star #20540 Detective Anthony Babicz, Star #20650 Detective Adam Siegel, Star #20832 Detective Andrew Kovac, Star #20470 Detective Oswaldo Ochoa, Star #21407 Sergeant Kevin Sellers, Star #841 Sergeant Raymond Piwinicki, Star #1056 Police Officer Jesse Cavazos, Star #14027 Police Officer Brandon Kirby, Star #13335 Police Officer Brandon Murphy, Star #10545 Police Officer Inez Benson, Star #4437
28 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JUNE 2021
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