4 Crimes By Joliet Police Officer Using Counterfeit Money At Thorntons Gas Station: Indictment

JOLIET, IL — Joliet police officer Christopher McClinton, who joined the force in September 2022 and fired his service weapon during the deadly shooting that ended the life of Jamal Smith at the Lois Place Apartments in 2023, is now facing four unrelated criminal charges. A special prosecutor relying on Will County's grand jury system has obtained two charges of official misconduct, one charge of forgery and one charge of theft against the Joliet officer.

The city of Joliet's annual compensation report for 2024 indicates that McClinton was paid a grand total of $126,574 last year. He made $84,609 in 2023, which was his first full year with JPD.

According to last week's indictment at the Will County Courthouse, 26-year-old McClinton presented one of the gas station clerks at the Thorntons on Collins Street with a $100 counterfeit bill on July 13. McClinton used the counterfeit bill to obtain $100 worth of lottery tickets from the Thorntons, the grand jury indictment reads.

The two official misconduct charges indicate McClinton, while acting as a police officer, committed theft against the Joliet Police Department "in that he took a counterfeit $100 from an impounded vehicle."

On Monday, Joliet Police spokesman Dwayne English issued a statement in regard to the criminal matter involving McClinton, saying, "The Joliet Police Department is aware of the recent Will County grand jury indictment involving Officer Christopher McClinton. The indictment stems from a criminal investigation. The internal investigation related to this matter will be handled by the Joliet Inspector General. Officer McClinton remains employed by the Joliet Police Department and has been on personal medical leave for the past several months. As this case remains open, I am unable to provide further details at this time."

Christopher McClinton Returned To Active Duty After Death Of Jamal Smith

In September 2023, Joliet Patch reported that two Joliet police officers, partners Erick Gutierrez and Christopher McClinton, were back on regular duty months after shooting domestic violence suspect and gunman Jamal Smith at the Lois Place apartments during the early morning hours of April 8, 2023. That August, Smith, 31, died of his gunshot wounds.

Plainfield Police Commander Kevin McQuaid, who took over as the new chairman of the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force, told Joliet Patch that Smith never regained his cognitive abilities to make a statement to police. McQuaid also pointed out the two Joliet officers were summoned to the domestic disturbance and all they knew at the time was the building where it happened, they did not know Smith's name or the names of the people involved.

In the body camera videos of McClinton and Gutierrez, the officers sped to the Lois Place apartments around 4:50 a.m. to investigate a domestic incident. After they pulled into the parking lot, McClinton and Gutierrez began walking toward the apartment building off in the distance.

As they walk closer along the sidewalk, Smith starts yelling in the distance, "You called the police?" In the video, as Smith stands outside the apartment building entrance, he can be heard firing his gun at least two times. Gutierrez and McClinton open fire on Smith, shooting him in the back of the neck and also in his leg.

When Smith is shot, the video shows his gun fall out of his hand and land on the concrete stoop just a few feet away from his body.

Related Joliet Patch story:

Bodycam In Joliet Police Shooting Of Gunman Jamal Smith Released