Juvenile Who Drove Car At Cop During BMW Burglary Charged: Police

WESTMONT, IL — A juvenile faces felony charges in connection with a burglary at Laurel BMW in Westmont. The juvenile had been hospitalized after the incident, in which he was shot by a police officer while driving a stolen getaway car toward the officer, according to prosecutors.

The juvenile was charged with burglary, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and aggravated assault on a police officer.

Angel Martin, 23, of Dolton, Semaje Wheeler, 18, of Chicago, and Brian Garrett, 19, of Chicago, were previously charged with armed violence, burglary and possession of a stolen motor vehicle in connection with the Dec. 31 incident.

Two Westmont police officers arrived at Laurel BMW, 430 E. Ogden Ave., Westmont around 4:30 a.m. to respond to a burglary in progress.

Martin and the juvenile had tried to use a pry bar to get into the building on its east side before throwing a landscaping rock through the bay door of a garage on the building's west side and crawling in through the broken window, prosecutors say.

Related: Cops Seize 4 Guns After BMW Dealership Burglarized In Westmont

When police arrived, the juvenile and Martin exited the building and got into a white Acura occupied by Wheeler and Garrett, then tried to flee, a news release said. Police say they blocked the Acura from exiting, then got out of their squad car and drew their weapons, while ordering the men to get out of the car.

The juvenile who was driving the Acura, is accused of "driving directly at one of the uniformed officers," prosecutors said. The officer then fired at the car, hitting the juvenile in the chest and grazing Martin, per a news release.

The car then fled on Ogden Avenue to northbound IL-83 and crashed into a ditch near 22nd Street in Oak Brook. Police say Martin, Wheeler, Garrett and the juvenile got out of the car and fled on foot before they were taken into custody. The juvenile was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The DuPage County MERIT Public Integrity Task Force and Forensic Investigation Unit is investigating the shooting.

Police say they searched the Acura and found a Glock 23 40-caliber with an extended magazine, a Poly 80 gun with a round in the chamber and a Glock 17 9mm with a fully loaded 24-round magazine. According to prosecutors, officers also found a 50-drum magazine that was "nearly full," two pry bars and 28 key fobs inside the car, along with a Glock 19 with an extended magazine outside the car.

“The filing of identical charges against the juvenile accused in this case sends the message that in DuPage County we will not tolerate this type of violent behavior and will aggressively prosecute anyone accused of such conduct, regardless of age,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

Westmont Police Chief Jim Gunther added, "Every day, law enforcement officers face the dangerous unknown of whether or not they will be forced to fire their service weapon in performance of their duty. On the last day of the year, 2021, one of our officers had to make that difficult decision. We are all very grateful that none of our officers were injured that evening. They displayed courage and a professionalism that night of which we are all very proud.”

The juvenile has been ordered to be detained until at least his next court appearance, which is set for Jan. 27.