Officers find loaded gun inside erratic driver's car in Joliet: cops

Officers arrested a man in Joliet who was driving erratically, recovered a loaded gun from his vehicle and found ecstasy pills near the area where he tried to flee from them, police said.

About 11:52 p.m. Friday, officers saw a vehicle in the 1000 block of West Jefferson Street driving in an erratic manner and traveling at a high rate of speed, according to Joliet police.

The vehicle struck another vehicle while turning south on Midland Avenue from Jefferson Street, police said. The officers stopped the vehicle at South Midland Avenue and West Park Drive but the driver fled on foot, police said.

The officers chased the suspect, later identified as Jacques Harris, 24, of Joliet, and located him in a nearby wooded area, police said.

Harris was placed in custody without incident, police said. Officers recovered a loaded firearm with defaced identification numbers, police said.

“A cellular phone owned by Harris and a bag of what appeared to be ecstasy pills were recovered together near the path in which Harris fled from officers,” police said.

The pills later tested positive for the presence of ecstasy, police said.

Harris was arrested on probable cause of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by felon, defacing firearm identification mark, controlled substance possession, ammunition possession, no firearm owner’s identification card and obstructing a police officer.

After Harris was taken into custody, he showed “signs of medical distress” and he was briefly hospitalized before he was taken to jail, police said.