Devine Conley, Jemel Maple, Tyrice Turner
Devine Conley
Jemel Maple
Tyrice Turner
SCHERERVILLE — Three men are facing charges alleging they drove a stolen car around Northwest Indiana and then led officers on a chase before crashing into two vehicles.
Devine Conley, 21, Jemel Maple and Tyrice Turner, all of Chicago, are facing level 6 felony auto theft charges and various misdemeanor charges, according to Schererville police.
Maple also is facing a level 6 felony in theft of a firearm, and Turner, who was allegedly driving the car, is facing a level 6 felony charge of resisting law enforcement.
Online court records show an active warrant for Conley, Turner and Maple.
According to police, the three men, along with two juveniles, were arrested Thursday after Schererville and Dyer police began pursuing a 2013 Dodge Durango, which was reported stolen Jan. 19 from a Chicago gas station.Â
On Thursday, a Dyer police officer was wrapping up a shift at Jak's Warehouse on U.S. 41 when the group of five was asked to leave the family fun center.
The group entered a silver Dodge, which had a temporary Illinois license plate duct taped to the rear of the vehicle, police said. After running the plate number, Dyer police discovered the license plate was registered to a Mitsubishi.
Police began following the car, and as it arrived at Up Your Alley, Dyer and Schererville police attempted to pull the vehicle over before it fled, travelling westbound on U.S. 30 "in a reckless manner during heavy snowfall and moderate traffic," police said.
The vehicle gave chase until Calumet Avenue, where it crashed into two cars before stopping on top of a snowbank west of U.S. 30 and Calumet, police said. No one was seriously injured in the crash.
The five people in the car fled, but officers apprehended and arrested the group after a "brief foot pursuit," according to a police report. Conley was found hiding in the bathroom at Texas Roadhouse, officers said.
Two juveniles were also arrested, police said.Â
Police found a black Ruger 9 mm handgun with a fully loaded magazine and one round in the chamber, 22 1/2 grams of marijuana and an empty Glock 9 mm magazine in the car, according to the police report.
The Ruger handgun was later determined to be stolen on Aug. 14, 2019, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, according to the police report.
Conley, Maple and Turner were taken to the Lake County Jail, though it was unclear if they remained there Saturday night. The Lake County Sheriff's Department did not respond to a request for more information.
In this Series
ICYMI: Here are the most-read stories from the past week
Mary Freda
South Lake County Reporter
Mary Freda is the South Lake County reporter at The Times. She is a proud Ball State graduate, where she studied news journalism and Spanish. You can reach Mary at mary.freda@nwi.com or 219-853-2563.
