Two Charged Over Evanston Shooting, Police Pursuit And Crash

EVANSTON, IL — Prosecutors have charged two men with felony offenses in connection with last Wednesday's shooting and police pursuit in Evanston. Police said brief chase began at 3:22 p.m. when an Evanston canine officer on patrol heard about five gunshots coming from the alley on the east side of the 2100 block of Dewey Avenue. The shooting caused vehicle and property damage but no one was found to have been struck.

Seeing a silver Jeep Commander fleeing the alley, the officer turned on his lights in an attempt to pull it over but the driver of the SUV refused to stop, according to Evanston police. The officer pursued the Jeep west down Payne and north on several other streets before heading east on Lincoln Street. Police said the officer ended the pursuit as the Jeep crossed Ridge Avenue at Lincoln Street.

Shortly after the pursuit was terminated, bystanders let the officer know the Jeep had just crashed at the corner of Lincoln Street and Sherman Avenue, according to Cmdr. Ryan Glew. The jeep was found abandoned on the front lawn of a home in the 700 block of Lincoln Street after crashing into a fence. Glew said officers found a loaded Glock semi-automatic handgun on the ground near the crash site.

Police set up a perimeter and advised a nearby elementary school to lockdown during the search. Administrators at Evanston Township High School separately decided to enter a brief lockdown. Two men were soon taken into custody a few blocks north of the site of the crash scene at Sherman Avenue and Central Street and arrested on Friday, according to Glew.

Darius Morales, 29, of the 5500 block of North Central Avenue, Chicago, was charged with felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and as an armed habitual criminal. Police processed the gun found at the scene and found Morales' fingerprint on it, Glew said. His bail has been set at 10 percent of $10,000 in connection with the incident.

But Morales remains detained at Cook County Jail Monday because a judge had already ordered him held without bond Saturday over a violation of the terms of his bail in another pending case related to his arrest a year ago on charges of aggravated battery of a person over 60 and more than $10,000 in damage. Since 2016, Morales has been arrested in Chicago on charges of felon in possession of a firearm, domestic battery and theft, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office and Chicago police records.

An Evanston man accused of driving the Jeep during the pursuit and crash was also charged. Twan D. Daniels-Robinson, 30, of the 1900 block of Dodge Avenue, faces one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding as well as numerous traffic citations. After his hearing Saturday, Daniels paid the $3,000 cash portion of his bond and was released from custody, according to the sheriff's office.

UPDATE: Federal Jury Finds Felon Guilty Of Firearm Possession In Evanston