DG Man, 70, Fires Gun at Car, Faces Charges

A Downers Grove man faces felony gun charges after firing a shot at the driver of a car near the intersection of Greenbriar Lane and Bailey Road in Darien on Thursday evening, Darien Police Chief Ernest Brown said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. 

John Kavan, 70, of the 500 block of Redondo Drive, approached a car that had run out of gas around 7:30 p.m. and confronted the man who was waiting with it, Brown said. 

The man's friend had called his mother for assistance and left with her to get more gas for the car, Brown said. They didn’t get enough gas on the first trip and returned to the station for more.

It was while the friend was on his second trip to the gas station that Kavan approached the car, Brown said. Kavan first asked the man if everything was all right, according to a Darien Police Department release.

Kavan challenged the man who was with the car and told him to start it, Brown said. The car started and the man was able to pull away just as Kavan fired a .38 caliber revolver, which shattered the car's back window, the release said.

“Fortunately he drove away,” Brown said. “Otherwise we’d be dealing with a homicide instead of a broken window.”

Darien detectives suspected Kavan was involved with the incident because of previous encounters they have had with him, Brown said. They tried to make contact with him, but Brown said Kavan ended up turning himself in and confessing to the incident around 1:30 p.m. Friday. He told police he was just trying to scare the driver, according to the release.

He was charged with a class four felony of reckless discharge of a firearm with additional charges pending, Brown said. Kavan was taken to DuPage County Jail, where he has since been released on bond. Brown could not disclose any other details because of the ongoing investigation.