'Army Sniper Just Snapped:' Gas Mask, Tactical Helmet Found After Standoff

JOLIET — Erik Aviles, the 46-year-old Joliet man who authorities say was responsible for last week's daytime standoff with the Joliet Police force at his house on Irving Street, will not be getting out of the Will County Jail, Will County Judge Amy Christiansen ruled in recent days.

Aviles is being charged with unlawful restraint, theft of services and two counts of battery. The Will County State's Attorney's Office's successful petition to deny pretrial release also pointed out that 10 years ago, in Cook County, Aviles committed the crime of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and in that crime, employees from Rent-A-Center showed up at Aviles' apartment and rang his doorbell about an overdue payment.

Aviles came out of the lobby saying, "What the f*** do you guys want?" while pointing a black 9 mm handgun at the victim's head. Aviles told the Rent-A-Center employee, "Next time I see you, I'll shoot you in the foot." Aviles then went back into his apartment, where he had a rifle under his pillow and a loaded 9 mm handgun in his bedroom with one unloaded magazine and one loaded magazine with 16 bullets, court files show.

Will County's judge learned that Aviles already had a revoked FOID based on a clear and present danger finding.

Aviles Barricades Himself Inside His Irving Street House: Prosecution

According to the petition to deny pretrial release, Joliet police responded to the 500 block of Irving Street after people hired to clean the house called 911. They informed 911 dispatchers that "a veteran named Erik started freaking out and believed the cleaners were robbing him ... Aviles was holding a female hostage inside and was grabbing her at the doorway."

The incident happened after the cleaning was finished, when Aviles owed them $300, which they were not paid.

The court files explain that Aviles, an Army sniper, "just snapped" and he had a gun and was pointing the gun at the female and there was a gun and a knife in his living room, along with a bullet-proof vest and gas mask.

Aviles' FOID, prosecutors reminded the judge, was revoked.

Defendant Claimed To Be Military Sniper

At first, Joliet police tried to call the house, but Aviles would not answer the phone, according to records. Joliet police SWAT surrounded the house and made announcements to answer the phone and come outside. Aviles ultimately came outside and surrendered peacefully, police said.

Joliet police went inside his house afterward and found nobody else inside. Joliet Police Sgt. Christopher D'Arcy saw a tactical helmet, tactical vest, tactical backpack and a gas mask in the living room on a table near the west wall, according to court documents.

The victim and other witnesses were already outside at this stage, court files show.

The owner of Warren Cleaning Services notified Joliet police he was contacted by Aviles for cleaning services. Aviles told the owner of the cleaning company that he, Aviles, was a military sniper who now teaches people to shoot. A total of three employees came to Aviles' house on Irving Street, and when they went to inspect the house, they "saw dog feces everywhere. The cleaning took approximately three hours and they had a casual conversation with Erik throughout the process," court documents note.

At one point, Aviles gave the cleaning crew water, and he also offered them food. The final room they cleaned was the living room, where Aviles remained sitting on his couch. Suddenly, Aviles blurted out, "what the f*** is going on?" The cleaning service owner thought Aviles was joking at that moment, but he was not, according to court files.

The documents say Aviles accused the cleaning crew of robbing him and declared, "Hold on, let me go get something." Aviles then went to his couch and opened a container with a gun that looked like a revolver, and pointed the gun at the owner of the cleaning service, prosecutors noted.

The cleaning company owner's wife jumped between both of them and yelled, "Go, go, go" to her husband, as he got outside to safety. Aviles then pulled the woman into his house and he put a gun to her side, prosecutors outlined.

The woman whose husband owned the cleaning services remarked later to Joliet police how Aviles was normal and talking to her as she cleaned his house, telling her how good of a job they were doing. He put a silver bracelet on her wrist and told her the bracelet was for her because she did a good job.

The woman told officers that at one point, Aviles told her, "Why the f*** are you in my house? Y'all stealing from me."

The woman begged for her life, she later told Joliet police, and implored Aviles not to shoot her because she has kids. "I don't give a f*** about your kids," Aviles told her, prosecutors indicated.

Joliet Police Interview Aviles At Police Station

According to the defendant's version, as stated by court documents, he just had a girl and some other people over to clean his house and provided them with mops and buckets.

"When asked if anything happened during the cleaning, he stated no. Erik stated he doesn't own or have any firearms in the residence. His 12-year-old child has a toy gun in the house that he keeps in the couch, but he never took that toy gun point," court documents indicate. "Erik stated nothing happened and he thanked Jermaine for the cleaning. While in the doorway, Erik stated he just complained about them not doing the best cleaning job, but nothing else happened ... Erik continued to deny touching anyone or doing anything improper."

Joliet police noted that they got a search warrant for the house and the imitation, non-functioning but realistic-looking gun was recovered from inside the couch.