Will County Arrests Jose Raya For 8th Drunken Driving Offense

JOLIET, IL - A Joliet man with a long history of getting drunk, going out driving and then being pulled over by the police now finds himself charged with his eighth drunken driven offense of his life. Jose Raya, who is 43 years old, and lives in the 600 block of Joliet's Cleveland Avenue, was taken into custody on Saturday, Jan. 6 and formal charges were filed against him this week in Will County. Raya now faces a felony charge of aggravated driving under the influence, a Class X felony, as well as three other felonies.

The other felonies charge Raya with aggravated DUI with at least 3 prior convictions, driving while revoked and obstructing justice. Raya was arrested by the Will County Sheriff's Department. According to police, Raya was pulled over at the intersection of East Jackson Street and Henderson Avenue on Joliet's east side. He was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado with Illinois license plates. He was also cited for improper use of a turn signal, improper lane use and driving on the wrong side of the road and illegal transportation of alcohol in his vehicle, according to sheriff's reports.

That's all in addition to the DUI charge, which was his eighth such arrest.

According to the criminal complaint, Raya's prior DUI arrests were as follows:

• Jan. 1, 1995 in Cook County
• Jan. 25, 1996 in Cook County
• Oct. 19, 1999 in Cook County
• June 26, 2000 in Cook County
• June 9, ,2002 in Cook County
• March 10, 2005 in Cook County
• Sept. 14, 2011 in Will County

This week, the Will County prisoner appeared in bond court and the judge set a stiff $250,000 bond for him. Raya needs to come up with $25,000 to bail himself out of jail while his criminal case is pending.

As of Friday morning, Raya remained incarcerated at the Will County jail.

Mugshot of Jose Raya via Will County Sheriff's Department