Armed Robbery On Joliet's West Side, Teenage Girl Arrested: JPD

JOLIET, IL — After spending four months in the Will County Jail last summer and fall, 18-year-old Joliet resident Mariah Bew is back in the county detention after Joliet police say she pointed her gun at a 17-year-old boy on Monday, stealing his money.

Joliet police located Bew after the crime. She lives in downtown Joliet at a house in the 300 block of South Ottawa St. She was booked into the county jail at 9:36 p.m. on charges of armed robbery, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of ammunition and theft.

According to Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English, the following events led Bew's capture:

At 6:19 p.m., Joliet police were called to the 300 block of South Ottawa Street to investigate an armed robbery. Officers learned that earlier in the evening, Bew approached a 17-year-old boy outside the 3000 block of Heritage Drive and demanded his property while pointing a handgun at the boy's chest.

Heritage Drive is behind West Jefferson Street and Essington Road. The victim gave her $60 in cash and she left.

"It is believed that the victim recognized Bew and learned that she resided at an address in the 300 block of South Ottawa Street," English announced.

Sure enough, Joliet police spotted Bew outside the house, and she was arrested without any issues. Officers recovered the handgun believed to be used in the robbery in the backyard, according to English.

Will County Jail records indicate Bew spent 118 days in the Will County Jail last year as part of a sentence for a juvenile crime that happened in 2022.