Arlington Heights police said officers interrupted the theft of catalytic converters from vehicles parked at a condominium complex Saturday, and a Chicago man is now charged in the alleged thefts – after attempting to flee police in a stolen luxury SUV that also had stolen license plates.

According to an Arlington Heights Police Department news release, officers were dispatched around 4:30 a.m. Saturday to Dana Point Condominiums in the 1400 block of East Central Road.

“A suspicious vehicle and several [individuals] walking around the parking lot prompted a resident to call 9-1-1,” authorities said in the release.

When officers arrived on the scene, the individuals jumped into a Jaguar SUV and attempted to flee, the release states. Officers briefly chased the SUV through the complex until it struck a large landscape rock and became disabled.

Several people got out of the vehicle and ran, the release states. However, police caught one man: Terrell Davidson, 29, of the 5800 block of West Division Street, Chicago, was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, theft over $500 and obstructing a peace officer.

He appeared in bond court Sunday. According to a Cook County sheriff’s department spokeswoman, bond was set at $50,000 for Davidson on the charges from Arlington Heights incident. However, the spokeswoman explained, Davidson is being held in Cook County Jail on no bond “for a drug charge on a case from 2021.”

Arlington Heights police Commander Petar Milutinovic told Pioneer Press Monday that 911 dispatch had been told multiple people were involved in the weekend incident.

“This information was verified by responding officers. I cannot provide an exact number of offenders but I can tell you all of them were occupants of the same vehicle,” said Milutinovic.

Police said in the release that the SUV, a blue 2018 Jaguar F-Pace, had recently been reported stolen from downtown Chicago. Additionally, the Florida license plates that were on the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Moline, Ill.

Police reported that nine catalytic converters – all believed to be stolen – along with three loaded handguns, were recovered by officers from the SUV. The guns found in the stolen Jaguar included a loaded .40 caliber Glock and two 9 mm handguns, each with an extended magazine and one with a laser sight. Police said they also recovered lift and power tools they said are used to steal catalytic converters.

Arlington Heights authorities Elk Grove Village, Mount Prospect and Rolling Meadows police departments also assisted in this incident.  The Arlington Heights Police Department deployed a drone with thermal imaging capabilities in search of the individuals who fled, the release states, but the search did not locate additional suspects.

Davidson is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 28 in Rolling Meadows on the Arlington Heights charges.

Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.