Joliet Police Forfeiture For Mercedes-Benz At The Birches Apartments

JOLIET — Two months after the Joliet Police Department arrested former Robbins native Michael King in connection with an early morning shooting near Glenwood Avenue at The Birches apartment buildings, the criminal defendant may part ways with his 2015 Mercedes-Benz CL 550, according to a civil forfeiture petition.

The Will County State's Attorney's Office's forfeiture complaint against the 42-year-old King, accuses him of being the rifleman who was going around terrorizing his fellow apartment complex tenants in late August.

According to the state's attorney's filing:

On Aug. 29, Joliet police learned that a man with a rifle asked to be let into the apartment building at 2355 White Birch Lane. The witness told police that King lived in apartment unit 211.

Back at the parking lot, Joliet police recovered three spent ammunition casings next to a white box truck. Two shell casings were .223 and one was 5.56. Later, Joliet police found a gray Mercedes-Benz in the same parking lot near 2363 White Birch Lane, a few spots north of the box truck. A Joliet police officer saw a black handgun inside the Mercedes-Benz, laying on the driver's seat.

"The handgun was clearly visible through the driver's side window," the petition noted. The Mercedes-Benz registered back to King, who showed an address in Robbins.

At Apartment 211, Joliet police knocked on the door and called for the tenants to exit. King exited, and he was the only person at the apartment. Joliet police took him into custody.

Joliet police raided King's apartment and seized an air soft pistol rifle on the living room and a rifle case and ammunition clip in the bedroom.

"It should be noted that Michael King is a convicted felon, and does not have a valid FOID or CCL," the forfeiture reads.

During the raid inside King's apartment, Joliet police say they found 9 more rounds of .223-caliber ammunition in the bedroom sock drawer. A key fob for the Mercedes-Benz was in the same bedroom drawer. In the same bedroom, officers found two loose rounds of ammunition in the clothes closet.

"A Springfield Arms Rifle loaded with a magazine with .223 ammunition was also located in the room," the forfeiture pointed out.

The gun Joliet police found inside the Mercedes-Benz was a loaded Taurus G3C 9X19 handgun with live handgun ammunition rounds as well as live rifle ammunition.

Back at the Joliet police station, the witness told the officers that on the previous night, Aug. 28, around midnight, he heard several rapid fire gunshots. He looked outside his apartment building and saw a person standing next to a minivan in the parking lot. Later that morning, when he went outside to turn on his wife's car, he saw a person hiding behind the building at 2355 White Birch Lane.

The person had a rifle slung over his shoulder and the witness recognized this person as being his neighbor who lives in Apartment 211.

"The subject told the witness to open the door for him, at which time the witness opened the door and saw the subject go upstairs. It should be noted that the witness positively identified the subject with the rifle as Michael King."

On Aug. 29, Joliet police responded to a gunfire call at 1:12 a.m. and a vehicle was hit by gunfire in the parking lot at 2359 White Birch Lane. Joliet police recovered 23 separate .223 shell casings in the parking at 2357 White Birch Lane.

The forfeiture asks that Will County's judges declare that King's Mercedes-Benz be forfeited and sold at public auction, destroyed or delivered to a law enforcement agency here in Illinois.

Related Joliet Patch coverage of Michael King:

Rifleman Who Lived At The Birch Apartments Now In Jail: Joliet Police