Bond was denied today for a Joliet man with prior felony convictions who has been accused of illegally possessing a firearm, which police say they found in his car in the Topgolf parking lot in Naperville.
Darron Prince, 36, appeared in DuPage County court Tuesday morning. He’s been charged with one count of armed habitual criminal and one count of armed violence.
Gun in car at Topgolf parking lot, police say
Prince was allegedly found with a loaded gun on Sept. 11. According to a news release from the DuPage County State’s Attorney and Naperville police chief, a foot patrol officer with the Naperville Police Department discovered the gun when he was checking into a cannabis odor coming from an unoccupied Volkswagen SUV at Topgolf on Odyssey Court, just after 9:30 p.m.
When he went to take a look, he allegedly saw a gun “protruding from the driver’s side door frame.”
About an hour later, Prince got in the car, at which point police conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle. Prince allegedly was making movements toward the door frame, which officers asked him to stop. They then took Prince into custody.
Upon searching the car, police say they found a loaded Glock 42 handgun in the driver’s side door frame, 40 grams of cannabis, 1.2 grams of mushrooms, 12 grams of cocaine, 19 grams of heroin, and one pill of MDMA.
Prior convictions
Prince has prior felony convictions, including unlawful use of a weapon by a gang member and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and currently has pending theft and armed habitual criminal cases out of Will County.
“With multiple felony convictions, there is absolutely no justification whatsoever why Mr. Prince was in possession of a loaded firearm, as alleged in this case,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said in the press release. “The allegations that he was in possession of a loaded weapon at a family-friendly recreation facility are extremely troubling and if found guilty of today’s charges, he will find himself facing a significant amount of time behind bars.”
“I continue to stress that the Naperville Police Department is proactive in seizing illegal weapons, and this case is just the latest example,” Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said. “Our officers are making an extraordinary effort to keep this community safe, and I appreciate the hard work they put in on this case and many others.”
Prince is scheduled to appear in court for his arraignment on Sept. 27.
Photo courtesy: Handout, DuPage County State’s Attorney
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