Naperville Cops Help Catch Thieves Who Stole 170-Plus Vehicles
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (STMW) -- Law enforcement officials are about to reveal the results of their investigation of a ring believed responsible for stealing nearly 200 vehicles from car dealerships throughout the Chicago area including Naperville, The Sun learned Friday.
Monique Bond, chief public information officer for the Illinois State Police, would not discuss details of the case Friday. Information about the identity theft and vehicle theft ring will be disclosed during a news conference set for July 30 in Chicago, Bond said.
One member of the ring, Dominique T. Henley, has already been sentenced to eight years in prison, following his arrest last winter in Naperville.
Henley, 23, of southwest suburban Homewood, was sentenced in DuPage County Circuit Court, said Paul Darrah, spokesman for State's Attorney Robert B. Berlin. Judge John J. Kinsella July 11 convicted Henley of felony charges of identity theft exceeding $10,000 but not exceeding $100,000 and aggravated unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Kinsella gave Henley 168 days of credit toward his sentence for time he has spent in DuPage County Jail since being arrested, Darrah said. The judge also placed Henley on two years of mandatory supervised release and ordered him to pay a total of $525 in fines and court costs, Darrah said.
Henley remained Saturday in jail. Cook County authorities have placed a "no bond" hold on him.
Naperville police officer Brett Heun played a key role in the arrests of Henley and several other suspected ring members.
Police Sgt. Gregg Bell said Heun went just before 11 a.m. Jan. 25 to a car dealership on the 1500 block of West Ogden Avenue on Naperville's west side. Bell would not identify that dealership.
Heun's investigation revealed Henley and several associates "had purchased a vehicle with false information," Bell said in an email. Henley was arrested, while the others were either released or turned over to a task force investigating the matter, he said.
Bell added "the suspects arrested in our town have been linked to as many as 170-plus stolen vehicles" throughout the Chicago area. An auto theft task force coordinated by or under the jurisdiction of state police then took charge of the investigation.
Heun on May 18 received a Naperville Police Department "Chief's Commendation" for his work in helping to crack the ring.
The commendation was presented by since-retired Chief David E. Dial during the department's annual police awards ceremony.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
