Joliet West Student Who Sold Drugs And Has 3 Guns Arrested: JPD

JOLIET — A member of the Joliet West student body, 18-year-old Gerard Bush Jr., was released from the Will County Jail on Thursday, one day after Joliet police learned of his capture by the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force on criminal charges involving fentanyl and guns.

Bush was in distributing fentanyl and was keeping several loaded guns inside his bedroom in the 1300 block of Joliet's Nicholson Street, including an AK-47, court records claim.

Bush is now charged in Will County with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver fentanyl; three counts of unlawful possession of firearms for having a Glock 45 9 mm handgun, a Pioneer Arms AK-47 and a .223 caliber AR pistol; and two counts of unlawful possession of firearms ammunition, according to his criminal complaint.

According to the prosecution's petition to deny pretrial release, inside Bush's bedroom on Nicholson Street, the Joliet police found an AK-47 next to Bush's bed, live rounds in the magazine, the .223 AR pistol, 24 miscellaneous .223 live rounds, the Glock 45 9mm handgun with a 27-round magazine and laser under Bush's pillow and other evidence pertaining to guns and drugs.

The criminal complaint notes that when Bush was a juvenile, in 2023, he was convicted of unlawful possession of a handgun under the age of 18 in Will County. The arrest warrant obtained by Joliet police on Feb. 6 noted that Bush was a student at Joliet West.

Following Thursday's hearing, a Will County judge ordered Bush's release from the jail, putting him on GPS Monitoring and home confinement from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., court files show.

Bush is the second member of his family facing felony charges from Joliet police following the house raid on Jan. 31 on Nicholson.

In the master bedroom of Bush's stepdad, Cortez Humphrey, Joliet police noted they found an electronic bill counter, $6,950 in a shoebox, $16,345 in a gray plastic grocery bag cocaine inside a one-gallon bucket kept in the basement.

Previously, the Joliet police announced that the 49-year-old Humphrey was put in the jail on three counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstructing justice, driving while license revoked and having a federal arrest warrant.

According to the Joliet police: Following an investigation conducted by the Joliet Police Narcotics Unit, Humphrey was identified as a suspect in the possession of narcotics. Officers executed a search warrant on January 31, 2025, at 9:33 a.m. at Humphrey’s residence. Upon search of the residence, the officers recovered two rifles, a handgun, suspected cocaine, fentanyl and cannabis, as well as ammunition.

Officers found Humphrey driving a vehicle near Ingalls Avenue and Plainfield Road. Humphrey was also placed into custody for a federal warrant for escape from a halfway house.