Paul House Jailed After Claiming Joliet Hospital Stole His Stuff

JOLIET, IL - A 58-year-old man who lists his address as being Bolingbrook is now housed at the Will County Adult Detention Facility following a series of bizarre incidents that culminated on Sunday night. Paul House, 100 block of Cypress Drive, has been charged with a felony obstruction of justice and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. House's troubles started after he was discharged from Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center on Madison Street around 8:45 p.m. House insisted he was missing several of his belongings.

According to Joliet police deputy chief Ed Gregory, House began acting out and causing a disturbance inside the hospital. Hospital staff tried to explain to House that he needed to fill out the proper forms and hospital employees would follow up on his complaints. But House only grew more ornery. "He did not want to go along the procedures," Gregory said. Hospital security called Joliet police. Officers convinced House to leave without any further problems. Now for the rest of the story.

Shortly after 9 p.m., the Joliet Police Department's radio communications center began receiving repetitive 911 calls from different business locations in the 2000 block of West Jefferson Street. The caller was always House. He kept demanding that Joliet police investigate the Saint Joseph's hospital for allegedly stealing his possessions, police said. Gregory said it was unclear what items House suspected had turned up missing during his recent hospitalization. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

At any rate, House called 911 around 9:20 p.m., 10 p.m. and again at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. He was in the area of the Walgreens store when Joliet officers showed up to speak with him again. "He said he would continue to call 911 and that he would not stop," Gregory said.

At first, House was taken into custody on the charge of disorderly conduct for misusing the 911 system. However, House refused to let officers place him into booking, which prompted the felony charge of obstruction of justice, Gregory said.

Booking mugshot via Will County Sheriff's Department