Two suspects were arrested after one of them ran away on foot and was chased down by officers after he tried fleeing a stolen U-Haul van in Deerfield, police reports show.
The Deerfield Police Department was alerted around 6:18 p.m. on November 21 to a stolen white Ford Transit van that had entered the town on Waukegan Road from the southern limits.
The vehicle was a U-Haul rental van with an Arizona license plate, according to a police report obtained by Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
Officers spotted the van minutes later in the parking lot of McDonald’s, 50 Waukegan Road in Deerfield.
Officers made contact with Adaryll Harris, 49, of Bellwood, who was adamant he was not driving because his license is revoked.
The report said Harris claimed his cousin was driving but did not provide further information besides saying it was a black male.
Officers saw a black male walking on the north side of the parking lot in a grassy area between McDonald’s and Firestone, which was not an area where pedestrians commonly use.
Officers made contact with the subject, who was identified as Brandon Tillis, 38, of Bellwood, the report said.
The police report said Tillis claimed he knew nothing about the U-Haul and had no relationship with Harris.
Tillis said he was walking towards his cousin’s residence at 520 Waukegan Road in Deerfield.
Tillis pointed to the south and said his cousin’s residence was in that direction. 520 Waukegan Road is not a real address in Deerfield and the 500 block of Waukegan Road is north of the McDonald’s, the report said.
Officers took Tillis over to the U-Haul and Harris identified him as the driver of the van.
The two eventually said the van was rented by an acquaintance of theirs and was loaned to them, the report said. They said they did not know the vehicle was stolen.
The Chicago Police Department verified that the vehicle was stolen out of Chicago, at which time officers told Tillis he was under arrest.
The police report said Tillis immediately ran away westbound on foot and officers chased him through the grassy area, eventually pushing him to the ground and taking him into custody.
Harris was also arrested after the two suspects were determined to have been involved in identity theft, the report said. A tow truck was called for the U-Haul.
Tillis was charged with criminal trespass to motor vehicle, identity theft, possession of a lost or mislaid credit card and resisting a peace officer.
Harris was charged with criminal trespass to motor vehicle, identity theft and possession of a lost or mislaid credit card.
The two appeared in First Appearance Court earlier this month and were released with pre-trial conditions as the charges are non-detainable under the Illinois SAFE-T Act.