Mysterious Bag In Shorewood Man's Car, It's His Defaced Gun: JPD

JOLIET, IL — A 25-year-old Shorewood man who Joliet police say was driving around Joliet's west side with a defaced gun inside a small bag that he tried to hide under the driver's seat was arrested on numerous felony charges this week.

Joliet police say they brought Christopher Holmes back to the downtown station and gave him a notice to appear in court on charges of Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Defacing Identification Marks on a Firearm, Possession of a Firearm without a FOID and two counts of Possession of Ammunition without a FOID.

The Shorewood man was arrested around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English, the following events led to Holmes' detention:

• Officers conducted a traffic stop on the Dodge Shadow near Glenwood Avenue and Whittier Avenue for expired registration. Holmes was the driver, and officers noted that Holmes appeared to be concealing a bag under his seat while speaking with police.
• Meanwhile, the officers learned that Holmes had a suspended driver’s license and did not have valid insurance. During an inventory search of the vehicle, officers recovered a loaded handgun and ammunition in the bag under the driver’s seat. Officers also located an empty extended handgun magazine in the vehicle. The handgun’s serial number had been defaced.
• Holmes was also cited for Driving While License Suspended, Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle, and Expired Registration. The vehicle was towed from the scene.