Off-duty Will County detective foils potential robbery in Frankfort; two suspects in custody

WILL COUNTY, Ill. - Two suspects are in custody after an off-duty Will County Sheriff's detective foiled a potential robbery in Frankfort Sunday morning.

At about 10:45 a.m., an off-duty Will County Sheriff's Office detective was arriving home with his family and observed two males wearing masks and hoods approaching his neighbor who was getting groceries out of his vehicle.

It appeared to the detective that the neighbor was about to be robbed, the sheriff's office said. The off-duty officer then honked his horn to try and scare off the masked individuals.

The two males fled the area in a silver sedan and the detective contacted Will County Sheriff's Office personnel about the incident. 

The detective then attempted to gather video evidence from his neighbor's house when he observed the suspects' vehicle drive through the area.

The detective followed the suspect vehicle to the Speedway gas station located at Harlem Avenue and Benton Drive in Frankfort Township, the sheriff's office said.

Due to recent robberies at the same gas station, the detective believed that the two suspects were going to commit a robbery.

Will County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene and while attempting to investigate this incident, the suspects rammed the detective's personal vehicle as they fled from the gas station parking lot.

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The suspect vehicle fled down Harlem Avenue and attempted to turn into Cook County on Route 30 when it hit a curb and became disabled.

The two suspects fled into a field on foot and were apprehended by deputies after a short foot pursuit. Both were allegedly carrying handguns when they fled and were recovered from the area.

Both suspects refused to speak with detectives regarding the incident and one refused to identify himself. His identity was later confirmed through fingerprint comparison.

Michael E. Smith, 21, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, obstruction of justice and obstructing identification. Smith also had a valid arrest warrant out of Cook County for the offense of unlawful use of a weapon.

The second suspect, who was the driver of the vehicle, is a 17-year-old juvenile from Chicago. He was transported to the River Valley Justice Center and charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and was issued numerous traffic citations.

"This is yet another example of criminals from the City of Chicago or other jurisdictions in Cook County coming into Will County to commit crimes. This incident is proactive police work at its finest, even when members of the sheriff’s office are off-duty. I want to thank Detective Shaun Moran for his quick thinking and action in tracking down these individuals that came into our community attempting to further their criminal ways. This was a good job done by all," said Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley.

Both suspects remain in custody.