Joliet Father, Son Arrested After Drive-By Shooting, Chase

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Police Department arrested a 46-year-old Joliet man and his 24-year-old following a drive-by shooting early Sunday morning in the 300 block of Eastern Avenue that damaged a house, police said.

Juan Mendoza Jr. was arrested on charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a street gang member, unlawful possession of ammunition, two counts of obstructing a peace officer and one charge of having no Firearm Owners ID card.

His father, Juan Mendoza Sr., was arrested on charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding the police and possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, police said.

Joliet police say officers were called to the drive-by shooting on Eastern Avenue about 1:50 a.m. on Sunday, June 7. Officers learned that a dark sports utility vehicle was driving through the area when one of the occupants fired his gun several times, striking a house. The SUV sped away and no one was injured by the hail of gunfire.

On-duty officers spotted the suspect's vehicle near Collins Street and East Jackson Street, according to police, but when officers tried to pull over the vehicle, the driver sped off.

At one point during the chase, Juan Mendoza Jr. got out of the vehicle and ran toward a house in the 200 block of Webster Street, reports show. Officers eventually took Mendoza Jr. into custody after officers trapped found him on a front porch, police said.

"A discarded loaded firearm was recovered in proximity to where Mendoza Jr. was arrested," Joliet police said.

As for the SUV, police said that Mendoza Sr. was eventually stopped in the 300 block of Benton Street and Mendoza was arrested without any problems. Police said they recovered a bag of cocaine from inside the Mendozas' SUV.

The son and father were both delivered to the Will County Jail and booked into custody around 6 a.m. Sunday.

Jail logs listed both men as living at a Joliet house in the 1200 block of Massachusetts Avenue.