Man's Death After Joliet Police Arrest Leads To Car Forfeiture

JOLIET, IL — A vehicle forfeiture complaint filed this week at the Will County Courthouse sheds more light on the circumstances of 37-year-old Joliet resident Eric Lurry's death following his arrest by the Joliet Police Department on the afternoon of Jan. 28.

According to Tuesday's forfeiture complaint, a confidential informant alerted a Joliet police officer on Jan. 28 that Ivan Davis would be driving a red Buick Lacrosse to the Speedway on South Briggs Street to purchase cocaine from somebody who would meet him at the gas station.

By 3:10 p.m., Joliet officers conducting surveillance spotted Davis driving to the Speedway where he parked in front of a fuel pump, but did not pump any gas, court documents state. Minutes later, a blue Mazda driven by Kenan Kinney pulled into the gas station and parked near the red Buick, the complaint states.

When Kinney walked inside the Speedway, Davis got out and approached the blue Mazda "and completed what appeared to be a hand-to-hand transaction with the only passenger of the Mazda, later identified Eric Lurry," court records reflect.

One set of officers followed Davis as he drove south on Briggs Street, but the 39-year-old Joliet resident sped away, throwing a bag of cocaine out a window, court documents show. Officers captured Davis after he tried running away, and arrested him on several felony drug charges as well as fleeing the police.

As for the blue Mazda that became the subject of the forfeiture complaint, other officers followed the car north along Briggs Street. Officers pulled the driver over for failing to use a turning signal near the Citgo station on East Washington Street, court records indicate.

One of the arresting officers, Marcus Wietting, searched the Mazda and found crack cocaine inside the driver's side door, prompting Kinney's arrest, the complaint stated.

"Lurry initially walked away from the traffic stop westbound on Washington Street. Officer Wietting requested Officers (Jose) Tellez and (Andrew) McCue to approach Lurry to check for any evidence of the drug transaction on his person," court records state. "When officers approached Lurry, a struggle ensued and Lurry was subsequently taken into custody."

The complaint states that the Joliet police officers seized $1,300 cash from Lurry, "which was collected for seizure."

After Lurry's arrest on Washington Street, Officer McCue transported Lurry to the downtown Joliet Police Station where Sgt. Doug May and Lt. Jeremy Harrison became involved in the case.

"Sgt. May and Officer Harrison observed that Lurry ... was blinking oddly and his mouth opening and shutting almost as if he was trying to swallow, was not exiting the squad car," court records state. "Sgt. May observed a bag in Lurry's mouth and observed Lurry to be unconscious.

"Officers were able to remove (a) portion of a plastic bag from Lurry's mouth, who was now not breathing."

The forfeiture complaint states that the Joliet officers removed the handcuffs from Lurry and removed him from the Joliet police squad car "and CPR was administered."

"Soon, thereafter, Lurry began breathing and had a pulse," court records state. "Joliet Fire Department arrived on scene, administered aid and transported him to the hospital. It should be noted that the plastic bag removed from Lurry's mouth was observed to have smear marks on the bag as well as small brownish remnants of a substance."

The complaint states that 106 grams of cocaine were retrieved from a metal brief case linked to the blue Mazda driven by Kinney and Lurry.

Another baggie contained 36 grams of heroin and a third baggie had 27 grams of Oxycodone, court records reveal.

The forfeiture complaint, filed by Assistant Will County State's Attorney Dant T. Foulk, however, does not inform the judge of the outcome of Lurry's medical crisis inside the Joliet Police Department parking lot.

Several hours later, Lurry died at AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center.

Now, four months later, Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow is hoping to convince one of the judges to seize the blue Mazda used by Kinney and Lurry because the car "was used or was intended to be used to transport controlled substances," the forfeiture states.

The car was owned by Tina Humphrey, a Joliet resident. This week, Humphrey filed documents at the Will County Courthouse contesting the efforts to take her 2015 Mazda and make it a forfeited asset for local police. Her car is worth nearly $9,000, documents state.

Humphrey wrote the judge indicating she bought the car from Hawk Auto on West Jefferson Street and the car was used by her daughter for a temporary and limited basis.

"That neither the claimant Tina Humphrey nor her daughter ... was in possession of the vehicle as a driver nor a passenger when the vehicle was stopped, searched and seized by law enforcement," Humphrey's claim argued.

Furthermore, Humphrey maintains she had no knowledge of any seized items inside her car that were in violation of the Controlled Substances Act or the Cannabis Control Act "or a proceed traceable to any exchange in violation of either of these acts."

Court records indicate Humphrey has the same address as Kinney, one of the drug defendants.

In any event, the forfeiture case is set to go before a Will County judge July 8.

Meanwhile, the felony drug cases against Davis and Kinney are awaiting trial. Both Davis and the 32-year-old Kinney have remained in Will County's Jail since their Jan. 28 arrests, logs show.