Rifle Suspect Gets Away From Joliet Police After Chase

JOLIET, IL — Three people were arrested early Friday morning following a chase that began on the east side of Joliet and ended on the west side. However, Joliet police said a fourth person who was holding a rifle got away and has not been captured.

The others who got arrested include a 17-year-old juvenile who now faces charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful possession of ammunition, having no FOID and having a defaced gun. Elian Raya, 19, who is well known to the Joliet police, was arrested on charges of resisting a peace officer and was released on an I-bond.

A third person, Juan Mendoza-Pantoja, 26, of Joliet, was also released on an I-bond for charges of operating a vehicle with suspended registration, operating without insurance, no window treatment adjacent to driver and unlawful marijuana possession by a driver.

According to the Joliet Police Department news release:

Officers on patrol observed multiple vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed in the area of Collins Street and Ward Avenue around 1:45 a.m. Officers followed the vehicles to Garnsey Avenue and Ohio Street, at which time a Lincoln Zephyr and a Nissan Altima both disregarded the stop sign.

One of the drivers refused to stop and a pursuit ensued. This pursuit was quickly terminated near Benton Street and Eastern Avenue due to safety risks resulting from the vehicle’s reckless driving.

Several minutes later, other Joliet police officers saw the Lincoln near Benton Street and Michigan Place, and the car appeared disabled. Officers then saw someone running from the area. Police say they found the suspect, who was a juvenile, near a stairwell in the 100 block of Webster Street.

Upon search of the juvenile, Joliet police say they recovered a loaded 9 mm handgun from his sweatshirt pocket. The handgun’s serial number appeared to have been defaced. The Lincoln was towed from the scene.

A short time later, officers located the earlier observed Nissan Altima in the 1200 block of Massachusetts Avenue and attempted to stop the vehicle. The vehicle pulled into someone's driveway and two men who were passengers ran from the vehicle, one of them in possession of a rifle.

The driver, Juan Mendoza-Pantoja, remained at the vehicle and was detained at the scene. His two fleeing passengers refused police commands to stop.

Overnight, officers then conducted an exhaustive search of the area by ground, by air utilizing a drone, and K9’s from both the Joliet Police Department and Will County Sheriff’s Office. A short time later, officers located one of the fleeing passengers hiding in someone's backyard, Elian Raya, and he was arrested, police noted.

The other passenger that was seen in possession of a rifle vehicle was not located. The vehicle was towed from the scene, Joliet police announced.

Joliet's Bob Hernandez notified Patch that he got to the overnight scene on the city's west side to produce one of his Facebook Live videos for his followers.