1. August 31: Amador Raygoza-Avila, 29, was arrested at the intersection of Route 71 and Route 47, Yorkville, and charged with driving without a valid driver’s license and disobeying a traffic control device.
2. August 31: Allison Sautter, 24, was arrested at the intersection of Mitchell Road and Schaffer Road, Plano, on an in-state warrant regarding a prior traffic offense. Sautter was transported to Kendall County Jail.
3. August 31: A theft occurred in the 17000 block of Rogers Road, Sandwich, in which approximately $900 worth of items were stolen. Police are currently investigating the incident.
4. September 1: Helen Leigh-Hulett, 54, was arrested at 5 Sonora Road, Montgomery, on an in-state warrant. Leigh-Hulett was transported to Kendall County Jail.
5. September 2: Jessica Watkins, 19, was arrested at the intersection of Fernwood Road and Bereman Road, Montgomery, and charged with improper use of registration, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and unsafe equipment.
6. September 3: Genoveva Ramirez, 46, was arrested at the intersection of Mill Road and Willowwood Drive, Oswego, and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and improper lane usage.
7. September 3: David Piazza, 39, was arrested at the intersection of Orchard Road and Mayfield Drive, Montgomery, and charged with driving on an expired driver’s license over one year, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and one taillight.
8. September 3: Theft occurred in the zero-100 block of Boulder Road, Montgomery, in which cash was taken. Police are currently investigating the incident.
9. September 3: Amy Musegades, 40, was arrested at the intersection of Route 71 and Budd Road, Yorkville, and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, improper lane usage and illegal transportation of alcohol.
10. September 3: Burglary to motor vehicle and criminal damage to property occurred in the zero-100 block of Bereman Road, Montgomery. Police are currently investigating the incident.
11. September 3: Residential burglary, burglary to motor vehicle and theft occurred in the zero-100 block of Brighton Way, Montgomery. Police are currently investigating the incident.
12. September 4: Residential burglary occurred in the 9300 block of Kennedy Road, Yorkville. Police are currently investigating the incident.
13. September 4: A burglary to motor vehicle occurred in the zero-100 block of Old Post Road, Montgomery. Police are currently investigating the incident.
14. September 5: Antwon Knight, 21, was arrested at the intersection of Route 31 and Caterpillar Drive, Oswego, on an in-state warrant regarding prior aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a firearm and delivery of cannabis charges. Knight was transported to Kendall County Jail.
15. September 5: Residential burglary occurred in the zero-100 block of Seneca Road, Montgomery, in which 15-17 pairs of shoes were taken along with other clothing. Police are currently investigating the incident.

Naperville man sentenced to 12½ years for disabling Aurora air traffic control center

A Naperville engineer who severed critical communication cables at an air-traffic control center in Aurora — causing thousands of flight cancellations and delays throughout the country — was sentenced today to 12 ½ years in federal prison.

Brian Howard used wire cutters to sever multiple telecommunication cables at the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora on Sept. 26, 2014, disabling the control center’s communication with critical data centers and in-flight aircraft. He then set fire to the equipment to inflict further damage. The result was the immediate grounding of planes flying over the Midwest, and several days of flight cancellations and delays across the country.

Howard, 37, pleaded guilty in May to one count of willfully damaging, destroying or disabling an air navigation facility, and one count of using fire to commit a federal felony. In addition to the 150-month prison term, U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman ordered Howard to pay $4.5 million in restitution to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Brian Howard attacked a critical piece of infrastructure in our nation’s airspace, causing one of the most severe disruptions to air travel in recent memory,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Polovin. “He committed a violent crime that put thousands of lives at risk, and his crime warranted the sentence he received.”

At the time of the incident, Howard worked as an engineer for Harris Corp., a telecommunications contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration. This position enabled Howard to gain access to an area of the control center’s basement that housed key components of the control center’s telecommunication infrastructure.

Howard admitted in his plea agreement that by severing the cables and setting fire to the control center’s telecommunication equipment, he increased the risk to aircraft traveling through the control center’s airspace. He further acknowledged in the plea agreement that his actions were intended to disrupt air travel and to effectively shut down the control center.

Paramedics arrived at the control center shortly after the incident and found Howard attempting to slice his own throat with a knife, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit. Howard told the paramedics to leave him alone, but the paramedics took the knife out of his hand and administered treatment, the affidavit states.