Jeep Faces Forfeiture After Ingalls Food And Liquor Store Arrest

JOLIET, IL — Rubin Johnson, who spent three months in the Will County Jail last year, is now the subject of a 2018 Jeep Cherokee civil forfeiture complaint. The Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow has asked that a judge give the Jeep to an Illinois police agency because Johnson used it in the transportation of illegal substances, cocaine, back on April 25, 2022, according to the forfeiture complaint.

Court records indicate the Joliet police SWAT team and drug unit officers learned that a wanted man, Johnson, lived in the 2100 block of Hanover Drive in Joliet, about this time a year ago

"Officers know Johnson by face and name and verified that he had an active Joliet police complaint warrant for aggravated fleeing and eluding," court files state.

Joliet police did surveillance on Johnson's house and saw him drive away in the 2018 Jeep Cherokee. He went to the Ingalls Food and Liquor Store at 1822 E. Washington St. Joliet police saw Johnson go into the liquor store on April 25, 2022, and that's when officers inside to arrest Johnson, now 31.

During the search of Johnson's clothes, Joliet police found a clear plastic baggie containing a white powdery substance that proved to be cocaine, the forfeiture noted.

During his ride back to the Joliet police station, Johnson asked the officers if the Jeep would be towed. Officer Conroy informed him it would be towed because Johnson had cocaine, court files indicate. "Johnson then made a spontaneous statement that he only uses the cocaine for his personal use," the forfeiture outlined.

The total weight of Johnson's cocaine baggie was .45 grams, court records noted.

The forfeiture complaint indicated that a woman named Breanna McGee of Arthur Avenue in Lockport may have a right, title or interest in the vehicle. She has filed a claim at the Will County Courthouse disputing the forfeiture of the 2018 Jeep Cherokee.

McGee noted that she obtained the Jeep under a lease agreement through Webb Chevy on Route 30 in Plainfield.

"The rules were not obeyed for correctly in order for the State's Attorney to keep the (vehicle). Payments were took out of my bank account," McGee wrote court officials.

The case is set for a hearing at the Will County Courthouse on June 14.