Joliet Drunken Driver Had Bloodshot Eyes, Slurred Speech: Forfeiture

JOLIET, IL — A 35-year-old Joliet who spent three weeks in the Will County Jail following his latest DUI arrest will now face the prospect of losing his 2007 Cadillac Escalade as a forfeited asset to the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow.

The forfeiture filing against Eric Sanchez happened on Feb. 26. According to the filing, Sanchez committed the offense of aggravated driving under the influence.

According to the forfeiture complaint, Officer Hernandez of the Joliet Police Department was sent to assist Sergeant Robertson, who spotted the 2007 Cadillac Escalade traveling northbound on Drauden Road at a high rate of speed, disobeying the stop sign at Arbor Gate Drive. Afterward, Sgt. Robertson noted that he saw the same vehicle disobey a stop sign at Summit Trail and make an abrupt turn to Alpine Way.

When Officer Hernandez arrived on the scene, the officer spoke with Sanchez and saw his eyes were glassy and bloodshot, along with the slurred speech, court records show. Sanchez opted not to perform any field sobriety tests, and that's when he was arrested on DUI charges. When Joliet police performed an inventory of his vehicle, they found an open bottle of Jim Beam 375 ml in the center console, the forfeiture noted.

Joliet police also found out that Sanchez had a revoked driver's license. His car was then towed away at the Joliet police's request. Back at the Joliet police station, Sanchez refused to give the officers a breath sample, court files show. He was then given citations for DUI and driving while license revoked.

Will County Jail logs show that Sanchez was kept in the Will County Jail from Jan. 20 until Feb. 10. He comes from the 3400 block of Waterford Drive.

On Jan. 23, Joliet Patch reported that Will County Judge Chrystel Gavlin ordered Sanchez to remain detained under the SAFE-T-Act and that this marked his fourth DUI offense.

However, a different judge issued a ruling on Feb. 10 that let Sanchez out of the jail. The judge who made that decision was not immediately clear based on the jail logs.