DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and Elmhurst Chief of Police Michael McLean announced that Judge Joshua Dieden has granted the State’s motion to deny pre-trial release for a Joliet convicted felon accused of illegally possessing a loaded firearm. D Ante Hence, 36 (d.o.b. 6/10/1989) of the 400 block of Nicholson Street, appeared in First Appearance Court this weekend charged with one count of Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon (Class 3 Felony), one count of Aggravated Unlawful Possession of a Weapon – No FOID Card (Class 4 Felony), two counts of Misdemeanor DUI, one count of Misdemeanor Unlawful Possession of Cannabis by Driver and multiple petty traffic offenses including Transportation of Open Alcohol by Driver and Stopping, Parking or Standing on Roadway.
On June 6, 2026, at approximately 1:10 a.m., Elmhurst Police officers pulled behind a vehicle in the area of North Avenue and Route 83 that was allegedly stopped in a lane of traffic. Officers approached the vehicle and allegedly observed the driver, later identified as Hence, passed out behind the wheel. Officers also allegedly observed a gun in plain view on the passenger seat just inches away from Hence’s outstretched hand as well as open alcohol and cannabis in the center console. Officers woke Hence and immediately secured the gun, which was a fully loaded SCCY CPX-2 9 mm with a full fourteen-round magazine and one bullet in the chamber. It is further alleged that Hence’s BAC was .19.
“It is alleged that Mr. Hence, a convicted felon, was illegally in possession of a loaded handgun while drunk in his car,” Berlin said. “As a convicted felon, Mr. Hence has forfeited his right to possess a firearm and the allegations that he was behind the wheel of his car after he had been drinking while armed with a loaded weapon will not be tolerated in DuPage County. I thank the Elmhurst Police Department for their heads-up work on this case that allegedly took a dangerous weapon out of the hands of a convicted felon. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Kelsey Kerr and Michael Pingaj for their work in preparing a strong case against Mr. Hence.”…