Joliet police lift shelter-in-place alert in search for burglary suspect; 3 in custody
Joliet Catholic Academy said it will be closed Tuesday
JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- Three Chicagoans are in custody Tuesday after an hours-long manhunt in the south suburbs sparked a shelter-in-place order. One burglary suspect remains at large, and he may be armed.
Police said at around 5 a.m. they received a request for assistance by suburban Chicago law enforcement agencies who were in pursuit of burglary suspects in two stolen Chrysler 300s, including one taken out of Lockport.
When officers arrived, they learned the suspects ran on foot near Black Road and Junie Court, after police had used stop sticks on the vehicles.
Police launched a manhunt with guns drawn, using drones and K9s, in an area bordered by Black Road, Midland Avenue, Catherine Road and Glenwood Avenue. Police said they determined the suspects could be armed and issued a reverse 911 call telling residents in the area to shelter in place. The order was lifted at about 10:28 a.m.
"The information I've received is that these individuals have been responsible for numerous car thefts and associated burglaries in the western and northern suburbs and that it's still being investigated at this point but it seems like these individuals may have been working in tandem with each other but all of that is still being looked at as we speak here," Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English said. "This is a fluid situation. It's a dangerous situation because we are still trying to determine if these suspects are indeed armed."
English said a third suspect is in custody, and they are looking for a fourth suspect, who may be armed. Police initially said they were looking for five suspects, but later revised it to four.
English said three suspects are ages 21, 20 and 16 and all from Chicago. They were not armed at the time of their arrests. English said the shelter-in-place order was lifted as they received information that he was no longer in the area.
"We're always going to believe the worst in these situations so it's our belief that that fourth suspect should be considered armed and dangerous," English said.
Joliet police are asking residents to be on the lookout for any discarded weapons or other evidence that may have been left behind.
Meanwhile, many neighbors were very worried as the manhunt continued.
Leticia Manzo had just come home after dropping her kids off to school when she saw one of the suspects walking up to her garage. Police were there immediately to make the arrest.
"I was all nervous so I said, 'Mom?' out loud because I'm like she just left my sight and I'm seeing somebody else walking up onto my property, so I'm like who is that and I'm, like wait a minute I hope it's not one of the guys that's like hiding you know, oh my God," Manzo said. "I seen them arrest him and you know, peacefully. He was just asking if I could call his mom for him."
ABC7 Chicago cameras captured two of the arrests, one from the air and another one on the ground.
"He was asking people for rides, and they were just pulling off. I called him over and said, 'what's up?' He said, 'hey man I've got $50. I'll give you $50 right now if you can give me a ride to Chicago,'" Joliet resident Robert Hernandez said. "I went around the corner. I notified Will County. I said there is a suspect on Reed Street."
Joliet Catholic Academy said the school would be closed Tuesday because of the police activity. The Cathedral of Saint Raymond School was also closed.
"We went to mass this morning at St. Raymond. The priest announced that there was an alert," resident David Kaller said.
