Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- The search for a suspect in an October 20 shooting on Somonauk Street ended October 28 with the arrest of Darnell Ball, 29, in Calumet City. The pursuit of Mr. Ball included Park Forest police making the rare announcement that the department had issued a no-bail nationwide arrest warrant, in effect becoming Park Forest’s Most Wanted. Police previously called the alleged shooter “armed and dangerous.”
According to a statement police released Thursday night, on Thursday morning, October 28, 2021, Darnell Ball was taken into custody without incident at a residence in Calumet City. Ball was wanted by both the Park Forest Police Department and the Lynwood Police Department on multiple counts of attempted murder in relation to a series of shootings, according to police.
After Ball’s arrest, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and approved Ball be charged with five counts of attempted murder in relation to a shooting on the 300 block of Somonauk Street in Park Forest that involved a house being struck by multiple rounds of gunfire. The house was occupied by several people, including four small children, police said.
“The Park Forest Police Department would like to thank members of the Lynwood Police Department and the FBI Chicago Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force for their assistance with this investigation and Ball’s arrest,” the PFPD said in the statement.
“As a reminder, our legal system affords defendants the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law,” the statement concluded.
About Police Reports
Please note that we repeatedly say “according to police” in these reports and often use “allegedly.” We are not asserting in any way that those police arrested and charged committed any offenses. We report on what is in the reports that the police furnish to us. As those accused are innocent until proven guilty, the burden is on prosecutors and police to prove all alleged crimes.
eNews Park Forest has continuously published the addresses of those arrested and will continue to do so. 5 ILCS 140/2.15 states that the governmental body (for these reports, the Police Department), shall release information on those charged, including their name, age, and address. This information is necessary to ensure the proper identity of those arrested.
Presumption of Innocence
An arrest does not mean that a person is guilty. The law presumes all those whom police arrest are innocent until proven guilty. It is the policy of eNews Park Forest not to remove items from the public record from publication. Suppose you find your name in the police reports. Our policy is that we will only add information relevant to the final disposition of the case at hand, e.g., “Mr. Smith was subsequently acquitted,” “Mr. Smith entered a guilty plea,” or “All charges against Mr. Smith were subsequently dropped.” We will do so upon receiving and verifying proof of such disposition.
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Police captured all the incidents in this report on body-worn and dash-mounted cameras by officers at the respective scenes, according to police. All Park Forest police officers wear body-worn cameras. Officials typically abbreviate these devices as BWC in the reports.
We encourage persons wishing to leave anonymous information on any criminal matters, including narcotics or gang activity, to call the Park Forest Police Department Investigations Division at (708) 748-1309.
