Unwanted Male With Flower Bouquet, Plush Animal Threatens Underage Joliet Girl: Forfeiture Complaint

JOLIET, IL — A 26-year-old guy from Reading, Pennsylvania who was arrested by Joliet police after driving all the way to Joliet to pursue a romantic rendezvous with an underage girl in September, is now facing the prospect of parting ways with his 2007 Chevrolet Aspen as a civil forfeiture complaint has been filed by Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow.

Randy Linarez has been charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, involving a Glock semi-automatic handgun, and harassment through electronic communications. He told the underage Joliet girl on Sept. 11, "Ima show you the consequences of f***ing with ppl emotions" and "Oh (girl's first name) ik where you work at ik where you at" the court files reflect.

After spending two days in the Will County Jail in late September, Linarez was let out. Now the prosecutors are pursuing a civil forfeiture against his vehicle hoping to turn it into a forfeited asset for the police.

According to last week's forfeiture filing, on Sept. 17, Joliet police officer Jessica Prado responded to a residence where an unwanted man was there holding a bouquet of flowers and a plush animal he intended to give to the underage girl.

The officer spoke with the girl and to Linarez who "was an adult conducting a knowingly inappropriate romantic relationship with her," the forfeiture reads.

"It's okay. If nobody knows, it's not a big deal," the girl informed the Joliet police that Linarez told her. The girl furnished screenshots of her conversations with the 26-year-old man from Pennsylvania in which he contacted her through various social media platforms "in the time frame of three days with little to no response from her," court records indicated.

Joliet police officer Fosen later found Linarez at the Motel 6 in Joliet where Linarez told the underage girl to show up and meet him there, the complaint noted. The officer found a loaded gun in Linarez's possession when he was inside the motel lobby, a Glock 19x with one live round in the chamber and 19 rounds in the magazine, the filing revealed.

When interviewed by Joliet police, Linarez responded, "Is this about her?"

Linarez had driven all the way from Pennsylvania in his 2007 Chrysler Aspen, the forfeitue filing pointed out, and "when he was asked about numerous explicit videos of (the underage girl) found (on) his phone by Officer Fosen in a hidden folder, that included the minor performing acts of oral penetration," the vehicle forfeiture stated. "Linarez confirmed it was the minor."

The vehicle forfeiture complaint indicates the Pennsylvania man used his car in the commission of an attempted indecent solicitation of a child. Will County court records noted that the girl "related she had previously sent Linarez videos of her engaging in sexual activity involving sexual toys; the minor victim stated that Randy Linarez threatened to disseminate the videos publicly and make her viral."

The forfeiture case was given a hearing date of Nov. 25 at the Will County Courthouse.