Aurora police seize 3 illegal guns after traffic stop, crash

Police seized three illegal handguns in two separate incidents, a crash and a traffic stop, last weekend in west suburban Aurora.

Two handguns, one of them loaded, were found in a 2015 Ford Expedition that crashed about 11:30 p.m. Sunday at Mitchell Road and Konen Avenue, according to a statement from Aurora police.

The driver, 34-year-old Fernando Morales, refused to stop for an officer who was called to a gas station in the 400 block of South Lincolnway for an alleged assault involving Morales, police said. Another officer spotted the Expedition about a minute later at Indian Trail and Aurora Avenue.

The officer pursued the Expedition at speeds up to 75 mph until it hit a guardrail at Mitchell and Konen, police said. Upon searching the Expedition after the crash, officers found a loaded .40-caliber handgun and an unloaded .380-caliber handgun.

Morales, who lives in Aurora, was arrested and charged with aggravated DUI, aggravated fleeing and eluding, driving on a revoked license and speeding, police said. He was also wanted on a Kendall County warrant for driving on a revoked license and additional charges against him were pending. A 37-year-old woman who was in the vehicle with him was released without charges.

Another loaded gun was seized after a traffic stop Friday afternoon. Officers on patrol about 2:40 p.m. saw a 2007 Nissan Sentra that appeared to have illegally tinted windows, police said. When they went to stop the Sentra it quickly pulled into a parking lot in the 400 block of Sherman Avenue.

As officers approached the car, they saw the passenger, 21-year-old Delvion H. Pugh, “making movements as if he was trying to hide something” and placing something in the right side of his pants, police said. They found a loaded .44-caliber handgun in his waistband.

Pugh, who lives in Aurora, was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and one count of unlawful use of a weapon, police said. The 31-year-old woman driving the Nissan was released without charges.

Police said all three guns seized in the two incidents “appear to be illegally owned or possessed.”

Pugh posted $7,500 bail and was released from the Kane County Adult Justice Center on Monday, according to the Kane County sheriff’s office. Bond information for Morales was not immediately available.