Illinois quick hits: Hundreds arrested in sweep; Stellantis recalls Jeep hybrids after fires

Hundreds arrests in fugitive sweep

During a nationwide U.S. Marshal sweep, hundreds of fugitives were arrested in Metro East. According to U.S. Marshals of the southern district of Illinois, Operation North Star targeted fugitives in 10 metropolitan areas around the country, prioritizing those with firearms.

In East St. Louis alone, investigators arrested more than 600 fugitives and recovered 172 firearms, 53 kilograms of illegal narcotics and over $250,000.

One notable arrest involved a man wanted on murder charges in the shooting of a 13-year-old girl in Alton.

Teen arrested in postal worker murder

A 15-year-old boy has been charged in the murder of a U.S. postal worker in Chicago. Octavia Redmond was shot to death last July while on her route.

Police said someone drove up and shot Redmond multiple times and drove away. Police said the teenage suspect was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Stellantis recalls Jeep hybrids after fires

Stellantis, with a manufacturing facility in Belvidere, is recalling 194,000 Jeep plug-in hybrid SUVs globally after 13 reports of battery fires, and is telling owners to park outside and away from structures, as well as avoid charging, until a fix is implemented.

Details of the exact issue weren’t available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but Stellantis said the recall stemmed from an internal investigation that discovered the fires.