Lockport Man Shot by Cop Beats 1 Charge, Goes Down on Rest

A Lockport man shot by a Joliet cop in the midst of a lengthy car chase was found innocent of trying to run the officer over but guilty of speeding at him.

James Pacheco, 38, was also convicted of fleeing from the police and driving drunk. He had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage to property.

Pacheco’s bond was revoked and he was hauled off to the Will County jail after the jury delivered its verdict Friday afternoon.

The cops went looking for Pacheco in July 2012 after dispatchers received a call that he had broken out the windows of his former landlord’s pickup truck while it was parked on Union Street in Joliet.

Pacheco was reportedly pulled over on Washington Street near Melchoir Court, but as officers approached his Nissan Maxima, he took off.

A train blocking a railroad crossing halted Pacheco’s flight, police said, and officers again got out to walk up to his car. But Pacheco allegedly pulled a U-turn and drove right at them. One of the officers reportedly opened fire as he dodged Pacheco’s car. The law then continued chasing Pacheco until he crashed into a light pole in Lockport.

Pacheco was shot five times by the police, according to a federal lawsuit he filed against the City of Joliet, two officers he identified by name and other officers whose names he does not know.

In his lawsuit, Pacheco claims the police refused to tell him why he was being stopped and — when he did not immediately exit his car — one officer “yelled get out of the car you piece of s--- and fired seven shots into (his) vehicle.”

“James was struck by five of those shots and, fearing for his life, drove around the officers and proceeded to drive back to his home,” the federal complaint says.