Joliet man faces new drug charge after child self-inflicted shooting case

A man faces a new felony charge of possessing psychedelic mushrooms after he was charged in 2022 with reckless conduct over a child’s self-inflicted shooting in Joliet.

The new charge against Sensei Bennett, 27, of Joliet, was filed on Tuesday following an investigation by the Shorewood Police Department. A criminal complaint accused Bennett of unlawfully possessing psilocybin on Feb. 27 in Shorewood.

Psilocybin, also known as “shrooms” and “magic mushrooms,” is a psychedelic substance that causes hallucinations and an inability to discern fantasy from reality, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

On Oct. 3, 2022, Bennett was charged with felony reckless conduct and misdemeanor endangering the life and health of a child over a Sept. 27, 2022 shooting in Joliet.

The case still remains open and it is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on April 5.

In the aforementioned incident, detectives determined Bennett was the owner of a loaded Glock 9 mm handgun that was left unsecured at his former residence in the 300 block of Comstock Street, according to a statement in 2022 from Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English.

Bennett’s girlfriend had a child, who was 2 at the time, and was injured in a self-inflicted shooting after accessing the firearm, English said.

“The child’s mother was present in the home and was caring for another child at the time of the incident,” English said in 2022.

The child had been taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago and that child’s condition had managed to somewhat improve later on, he said.

Bennett was further charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by felon and unlawful possession of felony amount of marijuana. During the police investigation of the shooting at the Comstock Street residence, detectives recovered suspected marijuana packaged for individual sale, English said.

On Oct. 17, 2022, Bennett was released from the Will County jail on a $100,000 bond.