Naperville police make another weapons-related arrest in Topgolf parking lot

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- Naperville police made another weapons arrest in the Naperville Topgolf parking lot earlier this week, ABC7 Chicago news partner the Daily Herald reported.

Leroy Slater, 37, of Hazel Crest was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

A police spokeswoman said Slater did not have a license to carry the firearm.

The ABC 7 I-Team reports the Monday arrest is the 15th weapons-related arrest at Topgolf since last summer.

SEE ALSO: Naperville Topgolf sees more gun, drug arrests over Easter weekend, police records show

Similar to other arrests, Naperville police were on patrol in the Topgolf parking lot when they saw a gun inside a car. Police set up surveillance and arrested Slater when he returned to his car.

Authorities are trying to crack down and figure out why the popular family attraction has become a criminal haven.

The most recent arrests follow the ABC 7 I-Team's reporting that Naperville police have designated the Topgolf parking lot as a "high-crime area," according to police records.

The DuPage County state's attorney previously said none of the arrests at Topgolf's parking lot have had any known connections.

"I'm not sure what the attraction is," State's Attorney Bob Berlin told the I-Team. "Clearly, that facility is an attraction for felons with guns. We're not sure why they're going there. These guns or these drugs are in plain view, where the police can see them, and they're capturing all of this on their body camera video. I just think it's a lack of respect for the law. And unfortunately, we've seen more and more of that recently."

Topgolf in Naperville is right off of Interstate 88, so if drug deals are behind the surge in criminal arrests there, easy access could have something to do with it, but authorities have said no drug sales have been observed in the cases so far.

No one has been shot or injured at Topgolf, and Berlin said it "remains a safe place that people should feel safe going to."

A spokesperson for Topgolf previously told the I-Team that safety is their "number one priority," and that they have been working closely with Naperville police.

"These incidents are unrelated to Topgolf and no incidents related to these efforts have occurred within our venue," a spokesperson for the company told the I-Team. "We encourage anyone with specific questions on the arrests to reach out to the Naperville Police Department."