21 arrested in Joliet area in effort to curb violent crime: 'Illegal activity will not be tolerated'
JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- Over 20 people were arrested in "Operation Street Sweeper," a weeks-long investigation led by Joliet police. Many of those charged, police say, are repeat offenders.
"The goal of this operation was simple: to make Joliet a safer place for our residents and to send a clear message that violent crime and illegal activity will not be tolerated in the city of Joliet," Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans said.
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Joliet police, along with the Will County state's attorney and federal authorities, announced Thursday that "Operation Streetsweeper" charged 21 people accused in a range of violent crimes, such as shootings and theft.
Eighteen of the 21 suspects were taken into custody Wednesday, and some of them, police say, are gang-affiliated.
"Although Joliet has seen a reduction of violent crime this year, this operation was specifically designed to address the recent increase in violent crime in the Joliet greater area, including concerning numbers of violent crimes that involve firearms," Evans said.
In fact, the operation is being credited for taking four firearms off the street.
Police say D'Amonta Barber was found with a semi-automatic gun when he was arrested.
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He's accused of firing a weapon, causing property damage to homes near North Center and Russell streets back in July.
Prosecutors say Demetrious Houston Jr. and Donnell Brown are both accused of obstructing a peace officer.
But, when officers arrested them on those charges near Waverly Place and Curtis Avenue, they say the two were in possession of illegally altered Glock switches.
"That's priceless. If that's the only thing that we did in this, God knows how many lives we could've saved, the officers could've saved, by taking those machine guns off the streets," Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow said.
The Will County state's attorney said he hopes to have the same results in this operation to a similar sweep that was done in 1993. That's when, he said, 47 gang members were arrested, leading to zero shooting within three months after that.
This comes as police say some of these recent cases are still active, and more arrests could come.
