A convicted felon allegedly driving with open alcohol, cannabis and a loaded gun Sunday became the 23rd suspect to be arrested on an illegal firearm charge in the Naperville Topgolf parking lot, officials said.
Courtney Bennett, 36, of Dolton, was taken into custody about 12:55 a.m. after Naperville police officers observed him and a female passenger drive an Alfa Romeo into the Topgolf lot, 3211 Odyssey Court, with a “gun in plain view in the center console along with two open cans of an alcoholic beverage, Spiked Minute Maid,” a Naperville Police Department/DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release said.
When Bennett returned to his car, police pinned in his vehicle to stop him from leaving. He allegedly tried to toss his car keys to nearby family members and pulled away from an officer while being handcuffed, the release said.
A search of his car turned up a fully-loaded Taurus THc .40-caliber handgun with a 15-round magazine, and Bennett was found to be in possession of between 10 and 30 grams of a substance containing cannabis, the release said.
Because of three previous unlawful use of a weapon convictions, Bennett was charged as an armed habitual criminal, a class X felony, and also faces misdemeanor counts of resisting a police officer, obstructing a police officer and possession of cannabis and a petty offense of transportation of possession of open alcohol by a driver.
Bennett will remain in custody at the DuPage County jail under an order issued by Judge Joshua Dieden at the request of the state’s attorney’s office.
“The allegations that (Bennett) was in possession of a loaded weapon at a family-friendly recreation facility are extremely troubling and, in consideration of his past criminal history, if he is found guilty of today’s charges, Mr. Bennett will find himself facing up to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.
“Once again, I commend the Naperville Police Department for their vigilant and observant police work that has once more led to the removal of a dangerous weapon from our streets and quite possibly prevented a future tragedy.”
Bennett’s next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 16.
The trend of people bringing guns with them to the Topgolf venue was first observed in August 2023, and since then Naperville police have been routinely doing foot patrols of the parking lot there and making arrests for illegal gun possession and other offenses.
Before Sunday, the most recent arrest occurred Aug. 9 when police say they observed Edward Lamont Coffey Jr., 29, of Chicago, exiting his vehicle while smoking cannabis and took him into custody.
A search of his car turned up 9mm handgun inside a backpack, reports said. His FOID card was suspended and he did not have a Concealed Carry License.
Coffey was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possessing a firearm with a suspended Firearm Owner’s Identification card and failing to store 10 to 15 grams of cannabis in his vehicle in a childproof, sealed or odorless container, reports said.