Man Wanted In 2022 IL Road Rage Incident Found In Tennessee: Police

COOK COUNTY, IL — A Chicago man is accused of two counts of attempted first degree murder following a May 2022 road rage incident that began in unincorporated Maine Township. FBI agents found Juan M. Contreras, 37, on June 8 in Lewisburg, Tennessee, and took him into custody without incident. He was returned to Cook County on June 23 after waving extradition, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

Along with electronic monitoring, bond for Contreras was set at $500,000. He is due back in court on July 13.

Police said at 11:55 p.m. May 22, 2022, they responded to the 8800 block of West Golf Road for a reported shooting. They met a 19-year-old man and 18-year-old woman, with the latter having been shot in the leg.

Detectives determined that the driver of another vehicle, later identified as Contreras, pulled out a firearm and fired a shot at the victims' vehicle during a road rage incident that had begun in a gas station parking lot in the 9200 block of Golf Road in unincorporated Maine Township. Police said the offending vehicle had its lights off while pursuing the victims and drove away after the shooting.

An arrest warrant was issued for Contreras on May 30, 2022. Later, a federal arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was approved by a federal judge.

In addition to the attempted first degree murder charges, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office approved one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, and one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon against Contreras.