A Naperville man has been charged in a shots fired incident that took place in September 2021. Levell Dewane Leflore, 27, was charged yesterday with felony possession or use of a firearm when on parole and reckless discharge of a firearm.
Levell Dewane Leflore
Courtesy: NPD
What Happened
The charges stem from an incident on September 29, 2021. On that day, Naperville police responded to the 300 block of East Bailey Road just after 9:30 p.m., after a report of shots being fired. An investigation found the shots were fired from a dark colored sedan, as it was moving through a parking lot. Police discovered multiple shell casings at the scene. No one was injured in the incident. By the time police arrived, the suspect had left.
“We Don’t Give Up”
Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said in a press release that Leflore was arrested the day after the incident on a separate charge, but there was not enough evidence at that time to charge him for discharging a firearm.
“I think it’s important for the community to understand that, although we would like every case to be closed right away, solving crimes and securing charges doesn’t always happen quickly. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a high priority for us and I can promise you we don’t give up,” said Arres.
Currently, Leflore is in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections on an unrelated charge.
Guns Recovered, Gunshots Fired Numbers Up
Arres and his senior staff gave a briefing Wednesday with the department’s crime statistics for 2021. Though overall major crime across the board was down, compared to the last two years, the number of guns recovered by police and the number of firearms shot has gone up. In 2021, police recovered 146 guns compared to 82 in 2020 and 73 in 2019. 12 shots were fired in our city in 2021 compared to eight the year before.
“Hopefully the arrests we’ve made previously and the announcement of charges in this particular case bring some level of reassurance to residents that we take our law enforcement responsibility seriously,” Arres said, in regards to those figures. He added, “We will continue to engage in proactive policing measures to try to prevent such actions, and we will be relentless in our response when incidents do occur to make sure we arrest the offenders and hold them accountable.”
Anyone with additional information on this incident is asked to contact the Naperville Police Department at (630) 420-6666, and ask for the Investigations Division.
Naperville News 17’s Kim Pirc reports.
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