United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison for illegally possessing two firearms and injuring a law enforcement agent who was attempting to arrest him.

On the morning of Jan. 31, 2022, members of a Drug Enforcement Administration Enforcement Group, accompanied by Homeland Security Investigations agents and an officer from the Posen Police Department, attempted to execute an arrest warrant for Andrew Vesely outside of his residence in Posen. Vesely had two outstanding felony arrest warrants—one for aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer and the other for criminal trespass to a motor vehicle—and he was also suspected of stealing multiple Jeep Grand Cherokees, one of which was parked outside the residence. 

When Vesely walked out of his home and approached a rear alley, four officers moved to apprehend him. Vesely jumped into the Jeep and managed to start the engine before a DEA agent reached into the open driver’s door and grabbed Vesely by the front of his coat to stop him from fleeing.  Vesely put the Jeep into drive as he and the agent struggled for control of the car.  As the Jeep began to move forward, Vesely’s backpack fell onto the ground in the alley. The agent lost his grip and was flung into several garbage cans as Vesely sped off.

Vesely drove out of Posen at a high rate of speed and into the neighboring town of Markham. Officers from the Markham Police Department, who had been alerted by a dispatcher, chased Vesely on a major throughfare at more than 100 miles per hour though several traffic signals. Vesely crashed the Jeep into an embankment and was captured while attempting to run off.

The backpack that had fallen in the alley contained a semiautomatic handgun and a spare magazine, both loaded with armor-piercing rounds. The backpack also contained a car-key programming device, 31 car-key fobs, and other tools suitable for stealing cars. Law enforcement later searched the room where Vesely resided in the home and discovered another loaded semiautomatic handgun, three loaded magazines, a bullet-proof vest, police scanner, 25 key fobs, and another car-key programming device.

Vesely, 25, of Posen, Illinois, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to one count of forcibly resisting, impeding, and interfering with an Officer of the United States government and one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. On June 9, 2026, U.S. District Judge John F. Kness sentenced Vesely to four years and four months in federal prison.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Todd C. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Chicago Field Division, and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of HSI. Valuable assistance was provided by the Posen Police Department.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney William R. Hogan, Jr.

“The sentencing in this case sends a clear message that violence against law enforcement officers will not be tolerated,” said DEA Chicago Field Division SAC Smith. “DEA Special Agents and Task Force Officers put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect our communities from drug trafficking and violent crime. We are grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners for their commitment to ensuring accountability in this case.”

“Violence in general, and most certainly violence against law enforcement officers tear at the very fabric that holds our communities together,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “Violence offends our way of life and undermines the safety and trust that we all depend on to achieve the pursuit of happiness. As I have repeatedly stated since becoming United States Attorney, criminal attacks on law enforcement constitute a direct assault on the rule of law as well as our justice system and will be met with swift, firm, and unequivocal legal consequences.”