Suspects denied pre-trial release after nearly $4,300 liquor heist, high-speed chase in Bloomingdale

WHEATON, Ill. - Four suspects accused of stealing nearly $4,300 worth of liquor from a Bloomingdale store and leading police on a high-speed chase have been denied pre-trial release.

Donald Brown, 28, Terrell Jones, 31, Equne King, 27, and Jakeiya Brown, 28, all appeared in court Wednesday morning. 

The DuPage County State's Attorney says Donald Brown, Jones and King are each charged with one count of burglary, a Class 2 felony, one count of retail theft, a Class 3 felony and one count of misdemeanor resisting or obstructing a police officer.

Jakeiya Brown is charged with one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, a Class 4 felony and multiple misdemeanor and petty traffic offenses, which include reckless driving, officials say. 

Their charges stem from an incident on Jan. 16, 2024, when Bloomingdale police were called at 9 p.m. for retail theft at Pick N Go Liquors. 

An officer was half a mile away and saw a sedan with four people inside and Jakeiya Brown allegedly driving away from the scene. 

When the officer activated emergency lights, the vehicle continued driving and went southbound on I-355.

More squad cars joined in the chase and police say Jakeiya reached speeds over 120 miles per hour. 

Oak Brook police deployed spike strips that eventually made the suspects' vehicle come to a halt.  

Donald Brown, Jones and King got out of the vehicle and ran from police. A short time later, they were all taken into custody. 

Police searched the vehicle and found more than 50 bottles of liquor worth nearly $4,300, the DuPage State's Attorney says. 

"The allegations that Mr. Brown, Mr. Jones and Mr. King entered a local business, helped themselves to more than four thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise and then fled the scene without paying are outrageous," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. "What I find particularly disturbing in this case is the allegation that Jakeiya Brown, who was driving the getaway car, then led police on a high-speed chase on a major expressway under winter road conditions, putting countless innocent motorists at great risk. Thankfully, no innocent motorists or pedestrians were injured or worse. Once again, I remind the motoring public, if you hear sirens and see flashing lights behind you, pull over. If you do not, we will use every tool at our disposal to apprehend you, including assistance from other agencies, as in this case. I thank the Bloomingdale Police Department for their efforts on this case and for their ongoing efforts in keeping our neighborhoods safe. I thank the Oak Brook Police Department for their assistance in apprehending the suspects in this case. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Alexandria Levan and Philip Ungar for their work in securing charges against these four defendants."

All four suspects are expected to appear in court on Feb. 13.