Braidwood Man Loses SAFE-T-Act Hearing After Armed Robbery Of Cigarette Truck Charges

BRAIDWOOD, IL — Jason Bono, a 53-year-old Franklin Park native who now resides in Braidwood, will remain in the Will County Jail under the SAFE-T-Act following his recent arrest by Braidwood police on out-of-town armed robbery charges — and additional crimes related to his arrest in Braidwood.

According to this week's petition to deny pretrial release for Bono, on March 5, Braidwood police were asked by a commander of the Dyer, Indiana police to help apprehend Bono on two serious arrest warrants, armed robbery and criminal confinement, each involving the use of a deadly weapon.

The charges stemmed from a robbery of a truck driver who was delivering cigarettes and held in the truck trailer.

At 5:30 a.m. on March 5, surveillance was set up on a home at 353 East Oak Street, Braidwood. Back on February 27, Bono had been subject to a Braidwood traffic stop in the black Ford Fusion which is registered to him. That Fusion was in the driveway at this home.

Prosecutors noted that at 9:45 a.m., an assisting deputy from Grundy County identified Bono as exiting the residence, starting his car, looking under the hood and into the trunk, then return inside while the Fusion warmed up.

At 9:55 a.m., Bono re-entered the black Ford Fusion and began to leave. At 10 a.m., a traffic stop was conducted on the Fusion, which also had expired plates. Bono was ordered to get out of the vehicle and compiled without incident.

Five packs of Newports were recovered, four from the trunk. Also inventoried were metal brass knuckles from the driver door panel, a shotgun shell from the center console, and a small box containing apparent drug paraphernalia on the rear passenger floorboard, court records show.

When that box was inventoried at the station, underneath the padding inside the box was a baggie with 2.5 grams of what field tested positive for methamphetamine.

Prosecutors noted that Bono is a convicted felon, and he is not allowed to have the recovered items which were recovered. As a result, Bono now faces two charges in Will County of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and one charge of unlawful possession of meth.

On Wednesday, Will County Judge Chrystel Gavlin signed off on the order detaining Bono under the SAFE-T-Act. She cited the dangerousness standard as her reasoning.