Local Man Dies After Being In Joliet Police Custody

JOLIET, IL — A 37-year-old Joliet man died after being taken into the custody of the Joliet Police Department on Tuesday afternoon. The Will-Grundy County Major Crimes Task Force announced that the Joliet Police Department was involved in a narcotics investigation on the city's east side near Briggs and Washington Streets. Eric Dubrock Lurry Jr. was taken into custody and Lurry became unresponsive after ingesting a large amount of suspected cocaine, police have said.

Joliet Police Sgt. Chris Botzum issued a press release mid-morning Wednesday and indicated that Joliet officers had arrested the man around 4:15 p.m. on drug charges.

"When officers arrived at the police station at approximately ... the (man) refused to exit the squad car. Officers observed the (man) to be concealing drugs in his mouth. Officers attempted to retrieve the drugs and were able to remove a large bag of suspected cocaine from his mouth."

Lurry began to have a medical emergency, Botzum said, prompting police officers to render aid. The Joliet Fire Department told Patch it sent engine 1 and ambulance 5 to the downtown Joliet Police Station on Washington Street around 4:20 p.m. Upon arrival, firefighters found Lurry unresponsive and he was not breathing on the ground in the police parking lot.

Lurry was transported by the Joliet Fire Department's ambulance to Saint Joseph’s hospital. He was moved to the intensive care unit. Joliet Police received notification of the man's death at around 2:55 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Botzum's press release.

In 2015, Lurry pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession of controlled substances and he was sentenced to five years in prison and given credit for 241 days of time already served in custody. Lurry was most recently incarcerated at the Will County Jail on Dec. 28 after being arrested by Joliet Police on charges of possession of controlled substances and resisting the arrest. He was released about 12 hours later after posting 10 percent of his $20,000 bail, jail logs indicate.

On Wednesday morning, Romeoville Police Department Deputy Chief Ken Kroll told Joliet Patch that he was contacted around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday and that the Will-Grundy task force will send six to seven area detectives to Joliet to investigate the circumstances surrounding the man's death.

"The Major Crimes Task Force will be handling all of the media requests. Any updates released by the Joliet Police Department will come from the Major Crimes Task Force which we will post on our Facebook page," Botzum's press statement indicated.

This is a developing story. Patch will update it as more information becomes known.