Joliet Man Hides Defaced Gun In Harrah's Casino Parking Deck: JPD

JOLIET, IL — A 33-year-old Joliet man who attacked a woman he's been romantically involved with tried to hide his loaded .38 caliber gun in the parking deck of Joliet's Harrah's Casino after Joliet police were trying to catch him, authorities announced Thursday,

Now, Rashad Owens is in the Will County Jail charged with domestic battery, unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, unlawful ammunition possession, defacing identification marks on a gun, having no FOID, plus he had an arrest warrant from DuPage County.

Wednesday night's incident leading to Owens' arrest and the recovery of his defaced gun lasted over five hours.

Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English outlined the events leading to the loaded gun's recovery at the Harrah's Casino parking deck:

• Around 11 p.m., Joliet police were called to a domestic not far from the police station, in the 300 block of South Des Plaines Street.
• Owens had attacked a woman, hitting her in the face with a bag of items.
• Owens then ran away and hid inside Harrah's parking deck.
• At 11:15 p.m. Joliet police found his hiding spot and took him into custody.
• When officers searched Owens' clothes, five bullets were found, and Owens was taken to the Will County Jail on South Chicago Street.
• Around 4 a.m., a Harrah's security guard notified Joliet police of a .38-caliber gun found in the casino's parking deck along North Joliet Street.

"Owens was observed on Harrah’s video surveillance hiding the handgun in the parking deck prior to the earlier contact with officers," English announced.

English said the ammunition found in Owens' clothes was a match for the caliber of gun found at Harrah's; the gun's serial number, however, was defaced.

Bail for Owens was set at $3,000 on Thursday. He lives in the apartment units on Joliet's west side, in the 3000 block of Heritage Drive.