A suspect has been arrested and charged after authorities say he fired multiple shots while riding in a reckless vehicle that crashed into another motorist, prompting an intense police search in Cary last year.
Christopher Bolton, 24, of Streamwood, was charged with aggravated assault, a Class 3 felony, and reckless discharge of a firearm, a Class 4 felony.
The Cary Police Department responded around 11 p.m. on March 23, 2024, to the area of Cary-Algonquin Road and Harper Avenue in Cary for a report of shots fired.
Cary Deputy Police Chief Scott Naydenoff said at the time that officers learned a gun had been fired at an occupied vehicle from a second vehicle.
The victim reported they were driving in their vehicle near the intersection of West Main Street and Cary-Algonquin Road when a vehicle began driving erratically close to their car.
Both vehicles were traveling southbound on Cary-Algonquin Road.
Prosecutors said the erratic vehicle, in which Bolton was a passenger, initially drove around the victim’s vehicle and traveled into oncoming traffic.
The maneuver resulted in the victim yelling at the other vehicle to slow down after the two vehicles were stopped at a red light.
The vehicle Bolton was in then struck the victim’s vehicle from behind and drove off the road, attempting to drive around the victim’s vehicle, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Bolton fired three rounds from a gun registered to him from inside the offending vehicle.
The offending vehicle came to rest near the intersection of Cary-Algonquin Road and Harper Avenue after striking the victim’s vehicle, causing it to crash.
One shell casing was recovered in the roadway, Naydenoff said. No injuries were reported.
Naydenoff said the occupants of the two vehicles did not know each other.
Four male occupants fled the area on foot from the offending vehicle.
An extensive search for the suspects was conducted with assistance from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills and McHenry police departments.
Canine units and drones were used in the search, which led to the preliminary identification of one of the subjects involved, Naydenoff said.
Officers concluded the search and processed the crime scene without taking any suspects into custody.
Residents were asked to provide security video footage to the police from the area west of Cary-Algonquin Road, north of Klasen Road, east of Route 31 and south of Route 14.
Police had sent an alert on social media warning residents to shelter in place during the incident.
Investigators later identified Bolton as the suspect and he was charged in April, nearly a year after the incident, and an arrest warrant was issued for him.
He was taken into the custody of the McHenry County Jail on Sunday and appeared for an Initial Appearance Court hearing on Monday afternoon.
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Bolton pending trial, arguing he poses a real and present danger to the community. McHenry County Judge Justin Hansen granted the request.
Bolton remains held in the McHenry County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on December 2.