By Tony Reid
Herald & Review
DECATUR, Ill. — Police pursuing a Decatur gunman who fled from them in a stolen car report they got lucky with a spot of dumpster-diving: In one dumpster they found a handgun and, in a second, they found and arrested the gunman.
Brett A. Ballard, 24, was uncovered around 10:48 p.m. Aug. 5 after he had been spotted driving the hot car by a member of the Decatur Police Community Action Team, which targets illegal guns and drugs violators.
A sworn affidavit said Ballard had the misfortune to drive right past a patrol car driven by Sgt. Timothy Wittmer, who swung around to pursue.
Wittmer said Ballard took off at speed as he fled southbound on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and the stolen vehicle was soon located abandoned in the 600 block of East Marietta Street. As officers were checking it out, a resident appeared who told them he had seen a suspect jump into a dumpster behind the leasing office of the Wabash Crossing development at 1050 N. Martin Luther King.
“Officers subsequently checked two dumpsters located adjacent to the leasing office,” said Wittmer, who signed the affidavit. “Inside the first dumpster, officers located a Beretta M9 9mm pistol with a live round in the chamber and a magazine of 15 live rounds inserted.
“Inside the second dumpster officers located Brett A. Ballard. Ballard was sweating profusely as if he had been exerting himself ... underneath the dumpster Ballard was hiding in, officers located a Glock model 45 9mm pistol with a live round in the chamber and a magazine loaded with live rounds inserted.”
Wittmer noted that Ballard was currently on parole, having been sentenced to five years in prison in February 2020 following conviction in Macon County Circuit Court of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also has a prior conviction for the aggravated discharge of a firearm.
At the time of his arrest, he was out on bond for pending charges accusing him of being a cocaine dealer.
“Ballard also has an active warrant for home invasion and armed robbery through the Decatur Police Department for his involvement in a robbery in which he and another accomplice, while armed with firearms, placed a bag over the victim’s head and beat him...” added Wittmer.
After his dumpster arrest, Ballard was arraigned on two charges of being an armed habitual criminal and is due in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing. He has yet to enter a formal plea.
A check of Macon County jail records Sunday showed he remained in custody with bail set at $350,000, requiring him to post a bond of $35,000 to be freed.
___
(c)2022 the Herald & Review (Decatur, Ill.)