Plainfield Area Man With Loaded Gun Texts Loved Ones: JPD

JOLIET, IL — A 22-year-old man who Joliet police say parked outside his family's house in the Plainfield area and notified them he had a loaded gun, is no longer in the Will County Jail after posting 10 percent of his $30,000 bail over the weekend.

Prior to going to jail, Alejandro Barajas spent five days at St. Joe's hospital, where he underwent a mental health evaluation, according to Joliet police reports. At the time of his incarceration, Joliet police charged Barajas with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of ammunition and having no Firearm Owner's Identification card.

The incident that led to Barajas' arrest happened at 12:35 a.m. on May 30 in the 1300 block of Broadlawn Drive.

When officers arrived to the welfare check emergency call, they saw Barajas in the driver’s seat of a vehicle outside his residence.

"It was determined that Barajas had sent text messages to loved ones indicating that he had a gun," police spokesman Dwayne English notified Joliet Patch.

After Barajas got out of the car, officers saw a 9 mm gun sticking out from under the driver's seat, English indicated.

Barajas' gun was loaded, and Joliet police seized it as evidence, police noted.

Barajas was transported to Ascension St Joseph Medical Center by the Joliet Fire Department for an evaluation. On June 3, Barajas was released from the hospital and that's when Joliet squad cars brought him to the Joliet Police Department for processing and then taken to the Will County Adult Detention Facility.

Jail logs indicate that Barajas was released from custody on Saturday morning after posting 10 percent of his $30,000 bail.