JOLIET, IL —Joliet and Will County's criminal recidivism remains through the roof and one person who can't stop getting arrested by the Joliet Police force is 46-year-old Jarrod "Luckey" Barnes. He was Joliet's most arrested man five years ago, then his arrests stopped for several years. However, ever since this summer, Barnes has reemerged in Joliet and become a problem for Joliet's police officers and last week's latest arrest involved violence, court files show.
Last week also marked the first time that Barnes was booked into the Will County Jail so far in 2026 and he remained there for three days until being set free. The Will County prosecutors did not file a petition to deny pretrial release for Barnes, whose newest charges are two counts of aggravated battery, obstructing a peace officer, resisting arrest and criminal trespass.
According to his latest criminal complaint, Barnes is accused of remaining on the property of the Tony's Fresh Market at 1801 West Jefferson Street "after receiving notice from the occupant to depart" on Nov. 3. The other charges indicate that Barnes struck Joliet police officer Kathryn Kucharski in the nose and that he spat on her. His additional charges indicate Luckey struggled during the handcuffing procedure knowing Alan Vertin to be a police officer engaged in the execution of his duties and that Barnes refused to go through the booking procedures at the police station with Officer Ryan Smith.
On Sept. 17, Barnes was the focus of a Joliet Patch crime story headlined, "Barnes & Noble Disorderly Conduct Arrest Involves Joliet Man With Barnes As Last Name: Police."
Patch reported that Joliet police took Barnes away from the popular bookstore on charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass. According to police spokesman Dwayne English, at 6:33 p.m., the officers responded to Barnes and Noble at 2621 Plainfield Road for a report of an unwanted man causing a disturbance inside the business.
Upon arrival, officers learned that Barnes had been inside the store and had allegedly become increasingly disruptive while speaking on his phone, police said.
In May of 2022, Joliet Patch reported how the Will County State's Attorney's Office has resolved six of its eight criminal cases against "Luckey" Barnes. The 41-year-old resident of the 400 block of Kungs Way pleaded guilty to felonies in two cases, while four of his cases were dismissed under the plea agreement.
Barnes pleaded guilty to aggravated battery for his Dec. 31, 2021 attack of a private security guard at St. Joe's hospital. His resisting an arrest charge was dismissed under the plea. Barnes was fined $620 and put on two years of court probation.
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