Officers set up surveillance about 8:05 p.m. Tuesday on a car being driven by Devon Redmond, 25, of the 1800 block of Somerset Drive in Glendale Heights, who was wanted on several outstanding no-bond arrest warrants from DeKalb County, according to a release issued by the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Naperville Police Department.

When officers saw Redmond exit a house in Naperville, open the back door of his 2014 Nissan Altima to place a handbag below the driver’s seat and then get into the car to drive away, they pinned in his vehicle with their car, the report said. Redmond took off on foot but was caught.

A seach of his car turned up fully loaded Glock 23 with an extended magazine and one bullet in the chamber inside the handbag, the release said. The weapon had been modified with a switch capable of making the firearm fully automatic. Numerous pills believed to be the prescribed drug Xanax also were recovered, according to officials.

Redmond is currently on parole for convictions on aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, the release said.

In the Tuesday arrest, he was charged with one count each of possession of a loaded machine gun and armed violence, both class X felonies, as well as one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a class 2 felony, and one count of possession of a controlled substance, a class 4 felony.

DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden granted a motion made by state’s attorney’s office that Redmond be held in jail pending the outcome of his case, the release said. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 8.

“Within one week, the Naperville Police Department’s exceptional efforts have resulted in the removal of four dangerous firearms from those who are not legally allowed to possess them,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. “What I find particularly disturbing in this case is the fact that the defendant, a convicted felon currently on parole with multiple active warrants out for his arrest, was allegedly in possession of a machine gun.”

On June 6, Naperville police arrested 19-year-old Tony Thompson, of Joliet, after officers stopped a car in which he was a passenger and found a Glock 17 9-mm firearm with a switch capable of making it fully automatic beneath his seat. He was charged with one count each of possession of a machine gun, possession of a firearm-no FOID and two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

In an unrelated case on the same day, Trensae Ware, 24, of Naperville, was arrested on charges of felony unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and felony reckless discharge of a firearm.

It’s alleged that Ware was driving when he shot a loaded .45-caliber firearm, which was recovered from below the front passenger’s seat, the report said. A spent casing and bullet were covered from the car and Ware tested positive for gun residue on his hands, officials said.

A second weapon, a 9-mm handgun, was found in the vehicle’s rear passenger compartment, the report said.

Names, degrees and honors appear below as provided by the respective schools.

GRADUATIONS

Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas: Rebecca Wichman, Management and Marketing.

Iowa State University in Ames: Cameron Bianchi, bachelor’s degree, Finance, Accounting; Lindsey Broderick, bachelor’s degree, Geology; Rose Druce-Hoffman, bachelor’s degree, Software Engineering; Armaan Gupta, bachelor’s degree, Management Information Systems; Ishaan Gupta, bachelor’s degree, Data Science; Samuel Labarbera, bachelor’s degree, Aerospace Engineering; Scott Madland, bachelor’s degree, Management Information Systems; Cesar Medina, bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering; William Nelmark, bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering; Alivia Perna, bachelor’s degree, Criminal Justice, Human Development and Family Studies; and Rachel San Agustin, bachelor’s degree, Electrical Engineering.

Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa: Myles Barry, bachelor’s degree, Accounting, and Patrick Julian, bachelor’s degree, Sport Management, Marketing,

Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Mason Marinelli, bachelor’s degree, Managerial Accounting and Business Administration; Tyler Orlow, bachelor’s degree, Communication Studies; and Klara Wilson, bachelor’s degree, Psychology.

Northern Illinois University in DeKalb: Jake Barber, master’s degree, Higher Education and Student Affairs; Dustin Barbre, bachelor’s degree, Management-Leadership and Management; Gwendolyn Bauer, doctorate, Physical Therapy; Mark Behna, master’s degree, Accountancy; Rachael Berkover, master’s degree, Data Analytics; Sara Budhwani, bachelor’s degree, Nursing; Yigang Cai, bachelor’s degree, Music; Erin Carter, bachelor’s degree, Communication-Media Studies; Mischelle Christian, bachelor’s degree, Biological Sciences; Mischelle Christian, bachelor’s degree, Psychology; Amelia Gericke, bachelor’s degree, Sociology: General Sociology; Evan Guthrie, bachelor’s degree, Mechanical Engineering; Jamie Ho, bachelor’s degree, Art Studio and Design-Design and Media Arts; Anthony Intini, bachelor’s degree, Accountancy; Zander Jones, bachelor’s degree, Anthropology; John Kehoe, master’s degree, Business Administration; Dean Krueger, master’s degree, Art and Design; Katherine Lavoie, master’s degree, Management and Information Systems; Michael Nebor, master’s degree, Statistics; Abhiram Reddy Nevuri, master’s degree, Management and Information Systems; Joseph O’Brien, master’s degree, Education, Curriculum and Instruction: Teacher Leader with Endorsement; Jeremy Robinson, bachelor’s degree, Computer Science-Enterprise Software; Ryan Smith, doctorate, English; Zahra Syed, bachelor’s degree, Operations & Information Management; Kennedy Westbrook, master’s degree, Rehabilitation Counseling; Daniel Wilczynski, bachelor’s degree, Computer Science-Software Development; Andrew Williams, master’s degree, Accountancy; and Gabriela Zawadzki, bachelor’s degree, Biological Sciences.

DEAN’S LISTS/PRESIDENT’S LISTS/HONOR ROLLS

Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania: David Stoner.

University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio: Ethan Pytlak.

Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota: Jada Wlodarczyk.

Harding University in Searcy, Arizona: Emma Savage.

Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa: Abigail Apeland, Myles Barry, Joseph Cibulka, Oscar Mejia, Grace Skarbek and Katherine Walsh.

University of Rhode Island in Kingston: Christine Wu and Abby Golk.

Emerson College in Boston: Peyton Fenner, Matthew Berry and Madison Pope.

University of Wisconsin-River Falls: Ella Davis and Emily Stubitz.

University of Mississippi in University: Justin Boomgarden, Abigail James, Natalie Jordan, Jacqueline McMahon, Payten Orlow, Regan Stiegel and Avery Wambsgans.

University of Wisconsin-Madison: Jalal Bandealy, Shaili Banerjee, Natalie Bannon, Grace Bava, Isha Bhamani, Aayush Bharadwaj, Mason Brown, Irene Chao, Jessica Chen, Audrey Davis, Nina Davis, Simran Desai, Grace Ellinger, Cameron Felix, Bella Ferak, Ike Fritz, Sam Garabedian, Tomas Gilvydis, Kaitlyn Greenwald, Alex He, Peyton Hennig, Yuxuan Hu, Callie Karsten, Ansah Khan, Karina Khananis, Jake Kincaide, Natalia Kwiecien, Grace Larsen, Julia Liposky, Alisa Lu, James Lukasevics, Arin Mahapatra, Aaron Marattil, Connor McConnell, Akash Mohan, Hrutik Munigeti, Sarojshree Namasivayam Janaki, Maia Ninan, Owen OHara, Ethan Rao, Rahul Rao, Sahit Reddy, Maria Rosca, Alexis Ryan, Anjali Sanghvi, Atiksh Shah, Elizabeth Shamoun, Roy Son, Adi Tolia, Tomasz Wargala, Jason Xu, Timothy Zangler, Derek Zhang, Connie Zhao and Raymond Zhao.

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay: Lokanshu Malur.

Missouri State University in Springfield: Ella Carreras.

University of Maryland Global Campus in Adelphi: Carissa Fortin.

Northern Illinois University in DeKalb: Emma Ayer, Mady Banasiak, Dustin Barbre,
Joseph Boccuzzi, Will Carter, Calvin Comstock-Fisher, Ethan Enkhtur, Patricia Geno, Amelia Gericke, Nayeli Granados, Nicholas Grdina, Evan Guthrie, Kat Huber, Anthony Intini, Zander Jones, Ben Kuefler, Audrey Leegard, Arushi Mahida, Payton Major, Claire Meyer, Stephanie Mikuta, Richie Monti, Alex Montijo, Zak Neaz, Robbie Ngeah, Madelene Przybysz, Jaden Robinson, Actuarial Science, Jeremy Robinson, Joshua Robinson, Jessica Rosenwinkel, Emily Spreitzer, Aditi Venkatesh, Andrew Whitlock, Gabriela Zawadzki and Brian Zhan.

St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania: Grace Raquel.

St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin: Meghan Callahan and Nicole Nudera.

In the first case, a police officer pulled over a car after it came out of a Wendy’s parking lot in close proximity to the officer’s vehicle about 8:10 a.m. Thursday, a news release from the police department and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office said.

While speaking to the driver about his vehicle’s expired license plate, the officer “heard what sounded like the slide of a handgun rack from inside the vehicle,” prompting a request for backup officers to assist, the report said.

The officer then spoke to Tony Thompson, 19, of the 400 block of Hillside Road, Joliet,  seated in the the passenger seat and asked him to exit when additional officers arrived. While searching the vehicle, officers found a Glock 17 9-mm firearm with a switch capable of making it fully automatic beneath Thompson’s seat, the report said.

Thompson was charged with one count of possession of a machine gun, a class X felony; one count of possession of a firearm-no FOID, a class 3 felony; and two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a class 4 felony.

The second incident occurred about 8:05 p.m. Thursday when officers driving behind Naperville resident Trensae Ware, 24, of the 1500 block of West Jefferson Avenue, initially observed him not wearing a seat belt and then heard what sounded like a gunshot after which they saw “the vehicle lightly swerve and shake,” the report said.

After pulling the car over, the officers found a cannabis shake on the gearshift and an open bottle of tequila in the pocket behind the passenger’s seat, officials said.

When the four occupants exited, a spent casing was found on the driver’s seat, a loaded .45-caliber firearm below the front passenger seat and a bullet hole near the spot where the driver’s left foot would have been while seated, the report said.

According to authorities, the bullets contained in the gun matched the spent shell casing retrieved from the driver’s seat and a shot bullet recovered from where it lodged in the car.

All four occupants were tested for gunshot residue, but it was only found on Ware’s hands, the report said. A 9-mm handgun was found in the vehicle’s rear passenger compartment but did not match the discharged shell casing.

Ware has been charged with one count each of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, a class 3 felony, and reckless discharge of a firearm, a class 4 felony.

State’s Attorney Robert Berlin commended the Naperville police in a statement on the two arrests.

“Their commitment to public safety is second to none,” he said. “Once again, their efforts have led to the removal of dangerous weapons from those who are not legally allowed to possess them.”

Both suspects are scheduled for arraignment hearings on July 1.

As concerned Naperville residents and members of the Naperville Environment and Sustainability Task Force (NEST), we appreciated the article on the front page of the May 29 Naperville Sun describing the difficult decisions Naperville faces with its coal-heavy electrical supply.

We are rightly concerned about the pressure being exerted on the city by the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA) to extend the current contract to 2055, a $2 billion commitment. It is financially risky and could condemn the city to be among the country’s least environmentally friendly communities. The article captures the broader issues succinctly and comprehensively.

Why do we consider an early renewal of the contract to be risky?

IMEA is tied to coal with no plan to transition to clean energy at a time when renewable energy and storage are already cheaper, a trend that is expected to continue. Naperville ratepayers deserve a contract that allows flexibility to take advantage of lower-cost clean energy.

IMEA wants Naperville to sign a new contract by April 2025, but our current contract allows us until September 2030 to provide notice. The longer we wait to decide on our next electricity supplier, the less uncertainty. The less uncertainty, the less risk. Other utilities address uncertainty through regularly updated integrated resource planning, which is absent from the existing and proposed contracts.

It would be fiscally irresponsible to sole-source a $2 billion contract. Due diligence, putting the contract out to bid and public engagement will take time.

Naperville should not be rushed by IMEA’s artificial deadline.

Naperville must also do its part to address the climate crisis. Signing the proposed IMEA contract would put us firmly in the category of environmental laggard. Instead, Naperville can lead in statewide efforts to retire coal. Our community can work together to create a future where low-price, reliable energy is sourced in a sustainable manner.

NEST is a designated task force of the city charged with advising on sustainability issues. We operate independently of the city government, and the views expressed are entirely our own.

Catherine Clarkin, Maureen Stillman, Barbara Benson and Fernando Arriola, NEST

Ellis Island model is the one to follow for new U.S. immigrants

Most of those seeking U.S. asylum have been coming from Central America. We need to reduce the burden this unorderly migration is causing our citizens and on the U.S. economy.

Our forefathers here in America, who conceived the idea of Ellis Island for immigrants, understood how orderly migration is done in a way that benefitted America and those dreaming of being U.S. citizens.

This unprecedented migration burden is due to the lack of creativity on the part of our president and the Congress in negotiating with Mexico to control their Southern border in an orderly manner that mimics the Ellis Island concept. Implementing such a concept at both our southern border as well as Mexico’s southern border will automatically establish migration in an orderly fashion that benefits the migrant as well as the United States citizenry.

Our distinguished leaders need to implement the rule of “KISS” — Keep It Simple, Stupid. I do believe most of our readers are familiar with that rule.

Steven P. Collins, Naperville

Share your views

Submit letters to the editor via email to suburbanletters@tribpub.com. Please include your name, address and town of residence for publication. We also need your phone number and email address for confirmation. Letters should be no more than 250 to 300 words.

By the time fire crews arrived about 3:40 a.m., there was a “heavy volume of fire” come from the vacant residence at 75th Street and Wehrli Road, which was set back far from the road and heavily overgrown with trees and brush, Giannattasio said.

Several people called the fire department about the blaze but it’s possible it was burning for some time before smoke or flames could be seen from the street, he said. It’s not known if anyone was squatting in the house; the source of the fire remains under investigation, he said.

Because the site was fully involved, initial responders upgraded the fire to a general alarm about 3:50 a.m., bringing in three engines, two ladder trucks, one heavy rescue squad, two medic units and two battalion commanders, a news release said.

The heavy overgrowth surrounding the wood-framed, single-family house, the address of which is technically in the 700 block of 24W 75th Street, restricted firefighters’ access to the scene, the release said. It took about 90 minutes to knock down the blaze and another three hours to ensure all hot spots were extinguished and to conduct overhaul operations.

Damage was estimated at $300,000, officials said.

One firefighter sustained a minor injury but did not require hospital treatment.

The Naperville Fire Department was assisted on the scene by the Naperville Police Department, DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, ComEd and the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District. The Aurora Fire Department and Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District provided station coverage for Naperville during the incident.

Authorities were notified in October 2023 of the animal’s condition by a person who had agreed to watch Olive, a pit bull mix, on behalf of its owner, Christina Helm, 32, of the 100 block of Testa Drive, while she was on a business trip, a news release said.

According the report, “(Olive) was in an emaciated state, could barely walk and had open sores on her body,” the release said. “She was immediately transported to an emergency veterinary hospital where she was treated for starvation and dehydration.”

Police then obtained a search warrant of Helm’s home, where detectives and crime scene technicians found evidence of alleged animal abuse.

A warrant for Helm’s arrest was issued May 23 on three counts of felony aggravated cruelty to animals, three counts of misdemeanor violation of owner’s duties and one count of misdemeanor endangering the life or health of a child. The last charge is because the aggravated animal cruelty was allegedly committed in a location where a minor resided, the release said.

Helm turned herself in to police Tuesday and was transported to the DuPage County jail.

Olive has made a full recovery and has since been adopted by a new owner, the release said.

According to election records and published reports, Helm ran unsuccessfully for the Naperville District 203 School Board in 2021.

Names, degrees and honors appear below as provided by the respective schools.

GRADUATIONS

Trine University in Angola, Indiana: Anandha Bhavana Reddy Gade, master’s degree, Business Analytics.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Maine: Kaley Du, bachelor’s/master’s degree, Computer Science.

Southern Illinois University in Carbondale: Joshua L. Kordzinski, bachelor’s degree, Automotive Technology; Jake K. Anderson, bachelor’s degree, Computer Science; Emily Cartwright, bachelor’s degree, Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management; Matthew G. Crockett, bachelor’s degree, Finance, and certification 1, Intensive Controlled-Environmental Plant Production; Gus A. Herzberg, bachelor’s degree, Aviation Management, and AAS, Aviation Flight; Aerin E. Hopkins, bachelor’s degree, Aviation Management, and AAS, Aviation Flight; Elizabeth M. McKinzie, master’s degree, Communication Disorders and Sciences;
Payten Sheehan, bachelor’s degree, Automotive Technology; and Ryan Agnos, bachelor’s degree, Automotive Technology.

Boston University: Lizzy Bashaw, bachelor’s degree, International Relations and Environmental Science.

Midwestern University  in Downers Grove: Allison Bartley, doctorate, Dental Medicine.

College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts: Jannette Kazlauskas, bachelor’s degree.

Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee: Taylor Dunwell, master’s degree, Transition to Teaching.

Des Moines University in West Des Moines: Ibrahim Mustaly, doctorate, Osteopathic Medicine.

DEAN’S LISTS/PRESIDENT’S LISTS/HONOR ROLLS

Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights: Madelyn Boogerd.

Trine University in Angola, Indiana: Abraham Antar.

Southern Illinois University in Carbondale: Grace A. Davidson, Joshua L. Kordzinski, Phae S. Pampinella, Michael J. Allen, Vaughn A. Beallis, Anna L. Jaworski, Elise N. Abood, Jake K. Anderson, Emily Cartwright, Matthew G. Crockett, Alex Goff, Gus A. Herzberg, Aerin E. Hopkins, Jack W. Schuerenberg, Payten Sheehan, Ryan Agnos, Sophia E. Benavent and Shane R. Roth.

Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin: Christina Eloe.

Boston University: Lizzy Bashaw.

Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Olivia Meyer.

Mississippi College in Clinton: Alexis Mucho.

Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais: Noah Bradshaw, Cassidy Hastings, Madelynn Hastings, Alyssa Lopez and McKenzie Rusink.

Milwaukee School of Engineering in Wisconsin: Griffin Hill.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point: Logan Dvorak.

McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas: Calvin Washington.

The residents contacted police about 1:25 a.m. Tuesday after hearing sounds downstairs and discovering their garage service door partially open and a car key fob missing from the mudroom of their home in the 2600 block of Blakely Lane, the report said.

It’s believed the suspect broke into a car parked in the home’s driveway, used the door opener to get inside the garage, went into the house via a garage service door and stole car keys from the mudroom, police said.

Connor S. Cichy, 19, of the 1000 block of Ravendale Court, was walking nearby when he was stopped by responding officers who found him in possession of burglary tools and items stolen in the Blakely Lane break-in, the report said.

He has been charged with two counts of felony burglary, police said.

Sedwick Williams, 47, of Chicago, and Tai Hon La, 34, of Beach Park, were convicted May 22 on charges of kidnapping conspiracy and attempted kidnapping following a two-week trial in Chicago, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Williams also was found guilty on individual kidnapping counts stemming from his involvement in the Naperville and Westchester incidents and for falsely impersonating a federal law enforcement officer in all three incidents, which occurred between October and December 2019, the release said. La was convicted on an illegal firearm possession charge.

Two other defendants are awaiting sentencing in the same cases. Ivan Ayers, 36, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to participating in the kidnapping conspiracy and Jonathan Vargas, 38, of Chicago, pleaded guilty to kidnapping the Naperville victim.

In the first incident on Oct. 19, 2019, the defendants “posed as law enforcement officers to handcuff and abduct a man at gunpoint outside of his electronics store, which they then burglarized,” the release said. They then drove him to a vacant unit in Chicago, where the man was physically assaulted and his family extorted.

The victim required hospital treatment following his release, officials said.

One month later, on Nov. 16, 2019, the men posed as DEA agents to handcuff a man at gunpoint outside his Westchester residence, forcing him and another person into the home’s basement, the release said. When two other people came to the house, they too were forced into the basement while the conspirators stole cash and jewelry and then fled, the release said.

In the the third incident on Dec. 11, 2019, the defendants were thwarted because the intended victim called 911 and the South Holland police arrived before they could get into to the house, the release said.

No sentencing date has been set for Williams and La, who are facing a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The case was investigated with the assistance of the Naperville Police Department, Westchester Police Department, South Holland Police Department, Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, the release said.

Jeremy Soto, 29, is facing three counts of felony manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance-cocaine and one count of felony possession of a controlled substance after he allegedly twice sold drugs to the officer in downtown Naperville, a news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and Naperville Police Department said.

In the first incident on May 6, the amount of coke purchased by the officer was about 2.5 grams of cocaine. In the second on Monday, the amount was about 27.9 grams, the release said.

Soto also allegedly had 21 baggies containing a total of about 20 grams of cocaine in his possession when he was taken into custody, officials said.

At the request of prosecutors, Judge Joshua Dieden ordered Tuesday that Soto be held at the jail pending the outcome of his case. His next court hearing is scheduled for June 10.

State’s Attorney Robert Berlin lauded Naperville police for their work.

“Any day we are able to get a suspected drug dealer off the streets is a good day for DuPage County,” Berlin said in a statement. “Drug dealers care nothing for their victims, society or the rule of law. They care only about lining their pockets at the expense of others.”