Speeding at Joliet Cop Gets Lockport Man 5 Bullets, 4 Years

JOLIET, IL — A Lockport man was sentenced to four years behind bars for speeding directly at a Joliet cop who ended up shooting him five times.

James Pacheco, 38, was found guilty in September of speeding at Police Officer Adam Stapleton. He beat a charge of attempting to run Stapleton over.

Pacheco’s trouble with the law that night in July 2012 started when officers went looking for him after dispatchers received a call that he had broken out the windows of his former landlord’s pickup truck while it was parked on Union Street.

Pacheco was reportedly pulled over on Washington Street near Melchoir Court, but as officers approached his Nissan Maxima, he took off.

A train blocking a railroad crossing halted Pacheco’s flight, police said, and officers again got out to walk up to his car. But Pacheco allegedly pulled a U-turn and drove right at them. One of the officers reportedly opened fire as he dodged Pacheco’s car. The law then continued chasing Pacheco until he crashed into a light pole in Lockport.

In a federal lawsuit Pacheco filed against the City of Joliet, Stapleton and two other officers, Pacheco claimed the police refused to tell him why he was being stopped and — when he did not immediately exit his car — one cops “yelled get out of the car you piece of s--- and fired seven shots into (his) vehicle.”

“James was struck by five of those shots and, fearing for his life, drove around the officers and proceeded to drive back to his home,” the federal complaint says.

Will County State’s Attorney said Stapleton may have saved someone’s life by shooting Pacheco.

“Officer Stapleton opened fire on that vehicle in an attempt to stop this drunk and wildly erratic driver from running him over and going on to possibly harm others,” Glasgow said. “The situation these two officers confronted on Washington Street was extremely volatile and potentially deadly. James Pacheco will spend significant time in prison for putting them in harm’s way.”