16 Packages Of Meth, A Safe, A Stolen Vehicle Out Galesburg Found As Joliet Parolee Arrested: Complaint

JOLIET, IL — The Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow has convinced Judge Chrystel Gavlin to keep Deshawn Bew detained under the SAFE-T-Act following his arrest by the Joliet Police Department over the weekend on several charges of felon in possession of a weapon.

According to the prosecution's case, at 5:53 p.m. on Jan. 10, Joliet police officer Killian was on routine patrol near the 900 block of Lois Place when he saw a black Infinity FX35 parked and unoccupied in front of 931 Lois Place. The vehicle was stolen out of Galesburg, according to officials, and the Joliet officer then conducted surveillance on the Infinity.

At 6:09 p.m., a man wearing a red hoodie emerged and unlocked the Infinity and began to enter the driver's seat. Officers then approached the vehicle, and Deshawn Bew ran inside apartment building 931 and locked the door, preventing officers from following, prosecutors said.

Later, the officers contacted the registered owner, and he gave officers consent to process the vehicle. The Joliet police found a safe on the rear passenger floorboard and a bag in the trunk containing 16 individually packages with suspected methamphetamine weighing 352.64 grams. The owner claimed the safe did not belong to him, nor did the bag in the trunk, according to officials.

Prosecutors said Joliet officers continued to conduct more surveillance. Around 10 p.m., Bew exited apartment building 931 after pausing to briefly look outside. Officers knew Bew to have an IDOC warrant for failure to return OOC/possession of weapon, prosecutors outlined.

Prosecutors say the officers saw Bew holding a plastic bag and enter a Honda van, which was an Uber. Officers followed the Honda and made a traffic stop and arrested Bew. The Uber driver told Joliet police that all the items left in the rear passenger area belonged to Bew. These items consisted of a plastic bag, a red hat, a red hoodie, a blue Apple iPhone, and a small baggie of a green leafy substance that was cannabis, court documents show.

Prosecutors noted that inside of the plastic bag was a black Taurus Millennium G2 handgun loaded with 15 live rounds of 9mm ammo. The officers also located a gray iPhone, $2,427, and a small clear plastic baggie of cannabis and weighed a combined 21 grams.

At the Joliet police station, prosecutors indicated, Bew admitted to possessing the stolen Infinity and running from the officers, but claimed the owner gave him permission to use the car in exchange for money. Bew denied ownership of the safe in the Infinity, as well as the drugs in the trunk. Bew denied having any knowledge of the handgun from the Uber and that his DNA would not be on any drugs/handguns.

Inside the safe was 2,262 grams of an off-white crystal-like substance, which was sent to the lab for testing, and $4,990 in different denominations, court documents note.

Bew is on parole under Will County case number 2023 CF 1605 until 10/27/26, court documents show.