10 Prior DUIs For Joliet Man, Brother's Ford Focus Faces Forfeiture

JOLIET, IL — Jose Raya, a 49-year-old Joliet man from the 600 block of Cleveland Avenue, was arrested by Joliet police in December on DUI charges, and Will County court documents indicate Raya has 10 prior DUI convictions in Will and Cook Counties.

The vehicle that Raya was driving at the time of his arrest, a 2012 Ford Focus, owned by his brother Enrique Raya, is now the subject of a civil forfeiture complaint from the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow.

According to court records, Raya received a DUI traffic citation on Dec. 7 from Joliet police officer Brian Knabel, who joined the force in 2020. Since then, Will County prosecutors have filed seven traffic offenses against Raya including DUI, DUI-drugs and driving on a revoked license. On the other hand, no felony charges have been since Raya's arrest two months ago, a review of court files show.

According to the forfeiture complaint filed in January at the Will County Courthouse:

Officer Knabel and Officer Gutierrez saw the 2012 Ford Edge stopping "well past the solid white line for the stop sign at Jackson Street and failing to activate the turn signal in respective distance from the intersection, turning it on late, as the Edge was actively turning."

The car made an "exaggerated wide right turn, crossing into the opposite lane of traffic, nearly causing an accident," the State's Attorney complaint outlined.

When both Joliet officers pulled over the Ford Focus, "Jose Raya stated he was trying to go home and stated he lives on Cleveland Avenue."

However, the complaint indicated that Cleveland Avenue was north of where Raya was driving, and he was driving south on Landau Avenue.

"Officers observed Jose Raya to have glassy eyes, slow and slurred speech, with slow and delayed movements," the complaint stated. "Initially, the driver identified himself as Enrique Raya, the registered owner of the ... vehicle and brother to Jose Raya. Jose Raya stated he had consumed two bottles of cough syrup because he had a cold."

According to the forfeiture, Raya was placed under arrest following field sobriety tests, and Officer Knabel ran a criminal background inquiry for the Joliet motorist that "revealed Jose Raya's driving abstract had 10 prior DUI convictions in Will and Cook Counties."

On Dec. 7, Raya was taken to St. Joe's hospital for a blood draw and urine sample and then brought back to the Joliet police station to finish the booking procedures. He was not taken to the Will County Jail in connection with the incident.

According to the complaint, Raya's driver's license was revoked for DUI. The Ford Focus is owned by the defendant's brother, Enrique Raya, who also lives with him at the same address in the 600 block of Cleveland Avenue.

A court hearing on the forfeiture is set for Feb. 14. The State's Attorney's Office is asking that the Ford Focus be sold at a public auction, destroyed or given to an Illinois police agency.

Joliet Patch last wrote about Jose Raya in 2018.

Related Patch story:

Will County Arrests Jose Raya For 8th Drunken Driving Offense