Shooters Arrested In Elmhurst Identified: Police

ELMHURST, IL – Two Elgin men were arrested after one of them fired shots at another car early Sunday morning in Addison, police said. The suspects were arrested in Elmhurst.

Charged were Cristopher Martinez Mendoza and Iban Pelayo, both 19, according to a news release from DuPage County prosecutors.

About 1 a.m., Pelayo was driving a Hyundai Sonata when he merged onto Lake Street from Interstate 290 in Addison and struck another car, but he drove away, police said.

The victims followed the Sonata, seeing the Sonata crash into a mailbox near Stone and Ellsworth avenues.

Near Lake Street and Villa Avenue, Mendoza leaned out of the front passenger side window and fired a handgun toward the victims' car, authorities said. The victims stopped following the Sonata and called 911.

Shortly after, an Elmhurst officer saw the Sonata near the I-290 eastbound on-ramp from Lake Street and activated his emergency lights, police said. Pelayo then sped away, reaching speeds of 115 mph on I-290, but he crashed on the exit ramp to St. Charles Road in Elmhurst, police said. The Sonata went airborne before landing on its tires.

Pelayo then kept driving before officers stopped him. Mendoza ran away, but was captured 10 minutes later, police said.

Officers said they found two live 9 mm rounds in the Sonata. They discovered a Polymer 80, or ghost gun, as well as a 9 mm magazine loaded with 10 rounds where Mendoza threw away the gun as he ran away, police said.

Mendoza was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (no firearm owner's identification card). Pelayo was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated fleeing and eluding.

"Crashing into and then shooting at another vehicle before leading police on a high-speed chase, as alleged in this case, may be something you see in the movies, but in DuPage County, this type of behavior will quickly land you behind bars," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in the news release.

A DuPage County judge ordered the men jailed until their trial.