Manhattan residents who heard a string of pops on the evening of June 9 weren’t hearing early Fourth of July fireworks — they were gunshots.
Shortly before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, officers were dispatched to Brynn and Brett Drive in the Century East neighborhood to respond to multiple reports of shots fired.
Officers spoke with neighbors, reviewed home surveillance footage, and located 16 spent Winchester Luger casings scattered along Brynn Drive, between North Street and Brett Drive.
Following a thorough investigation, Aiden Valera, 18, of Brett Drive in Manhattan, was arrested for firing at least 16 rounds from a black Hyundai Tucson, police said.
Using witness accounts and residential doorbell camera footage, which captured the incident and the vehicle from which the shots were fired, officers used the Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) system to identify the vehicle.
Officers called the vehicle’s registered owner, who was Valera’s mother. She said her son had her car and was supposed to be out with friends at Accelerate golf-kart park in Mokena.
Manhattan Police coordinated with Mokena Police to attempt to locate Valera. Mokena officers advised the business was closed with no vehicles in the parking lot.
Valera’s mother was informed of the severity of the situation and strongly urged her to contact her son and have him turn himself in to the Manhattan Police Department.
At that point, officers were again able to use the ALPR, this time getting an updated location for the vehicle at Route 30 and Interstate 80.
It turned out that Valera and his friends had traveled to Chicago when he received the phone call from his mother. The trio returned to the area, first dropping off one friend at their home in New Lenox — and the pistol, according to police reports — before heading to another friend’s house in the Brookstone Springs neighborhood.
At that point, Valera received another phone call, and Valera said he didn’t want to drive. He waited outside the friend’s home.
At nearly 3 a.m., officers then picked him up in the Brookstone Springs neighborhood and brought him to the police station for an interview.
Valera and his mother consented to a search of the vehicle, where no gun or casings were found. It was subsequently towed and impounded because the vehicle was used in the commission of a crime.
During the interview, Valera admitted to firing the gun from the backseat of the car. He said he’d been drinking and didn’t drink and drive, which is why he was in the backseat. Allegedly, his friends were unaware he had a gun and yelled at him for firing, but they continued on their way to Chicago despite it.
The police reports indicated that Valera referred to the pistol as a “Taurus Canik,” which are two different firearm manufacturers. When asked to clarify, Valera said he didn’t know which it was.
Valera, who did not possess a FOID card, said he bought the multi-colored Canik METE SF 9mm semi-automatic pistol on the streets for $1,000 because he felt he needed protection when traveling to Chicago.
At 3:30 a.m., officers then traveled to the friend’s home in New Lenox to retrieve the gun. The friend’s parents answered the knock at the door, which had woken them up. They retrieved the firearm and immediately and voluntarily handed it over to officers.
“Locating and finding the suspect within hours of the crime occurring represents the dedication our officers have to protecting Manhattan residents,” Chief Ryan Gulli said.
“We are proud of our 100% close rate and will continue to pursue justice for all crimes. There’s a reason Manhattan is ranked among the top 10 safest communities in the state,” Gulli added.
Police reports indicate Manhattan Police contacted the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office through the after-hours case review process and discussed the facts of the investigation with an Assistant State’s Attorney, who approved felony charges against Aiden Valera.
There were no injured victims, nor have there been any reports of property damage. Valera had no criminal record.
With both the gun and vehicle confiscated, officers reported there were no articulable facts that Valera would pose a current threat to any persons or the community, and he was released on his own recognizance.
Under the Safe-T Act, if an individual accused of a crime is to be detained, a police department must show, based on the facts of the case, how the individual would pose a threat to any person or the community.
Valera was ultimately charged with two felonies: one count of Aggravated Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and one count of Reckless Discharge of a Firearm. He is ordered to appear at the Will County Courthouse on July 1.