Naperville police say there will be ‘zero tolerance' for lawbreaking after large teen groups gather downtown

Yahoo

22-05-2025

There will be a heavy police presence in downtown Naperville throughout the summer after two large group gatherings over the weekend yielded numerous citations and two arrests, authorities say.
'We'll be there to protect everybody's right to assemble and have a great night or day or whatever it is — lawfully,' Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres said. 'It's when people start to become unlawful that we aren't going to have a tolerance for that.'
Friday night, Naperville officers responded to a gathering of as many as 200 teens and young adults in areas of the city's downtown, police said in a Facebook post.
Police were aware of the gathering ahead of time after seeing it advertised on social media and nearly 20 officers were assigned ahead of time to patrol the area, Arres said. While it was advertised to start at 4 p.m., activity didn't pick up until after 8 or 8:30 p.m. and everything started to 'bubble up' after 9 p.m., he said.
When disruptive behavior started, police began issuing citations, Arres said. Officers observed people flashing hand signals at police, some of which appeared to be gang signs, and groups blocked sidewalks and interrupted traffic flow, he said.
In all, about 20 citations were issues, according to Arres. A 15-year-old girl from Aurora was charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery to a police officer and misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, littering and obstruction, police said.
The situation started with an alleged incident of littering but devolved into her allegedly putting her hands on an officer, Arres said.
The second gathering took place Saturday night.
Arres described it as a 'street takeover,' with more than 100 people congregating in a parking lot on the northeast side of the city. There were 'numerous, numerous vehicles' doing burnouts and doughnuts around the lot, he said, and people setting off fireworks.
Police were not aware of Saturday's gathering ahead of time but coordinated a 'large police response to that area' after being notified just after midnight, Arres said. Officers issued nearly 20 traffic tickets for multiple city ordinance violations, he said.
Raymond Howard Zegers, 20, of McHenry, was arrested Sunday after an investigation allegedly connected him to several crimes committed during the meet-up, police said. Zegers was charged with reckless driving, reckless conduct, criminal damage to property and mob action.
No weapons were observed at either gathering, according to the police chief.
Gatherings like those from over the weekend aren't new. Several police officers were dispatched to downtown Naperville in August 2023 to break up a large gathering of about 150 people.
The gatherings also are not unique to Naperville.
So-called 'teen takeovers' have become commonplace in Chicago's downtown in neighborhoods over the past few years.
Arres emphasized that Naperville police will have 'zero tolerance for unlawfulness,' he said.
'We want people of all ages to have a great time and enjoy all the amenities that our downtown has to offer,' he said. 'But if you're going to come down and create issues and problems, you will be held accountable. That word will get out that Naperville is enforcing all the laws as we are tasked to do.'
The Chicago Tribune's Rebecca Johnson contributed.
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