Stolen Car Crashes At River Road, Theodore: Joliet Police Reveal 3 Criminal Charges

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Police Department on Thursday evening notified Joliet Patch that 33-year-old resident Raymond Martinez is back in the Will County Jail on numerous charges after crashing a stolen car into another motorist at River Road and Theodore Street while trying to avoid the police.

Police spokesman Tizoc Landeros said that Martinez is being kept in the jail on charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, resisting or obstructing a police officer and possession of a stolen vehicle. He was also arrested on a Will County arrest warrant for failure to appear on a pending court case for domestic battery.

Here are the key times for Thursday's incident, according to Landeros:

• The vehicle was first spotted at about 1:30 p.m.
• It was later found at Black Road and Route 59 at about 2:45 p.m.
• It was surveilled until it fled from police then crashed about 3 p.m.
• Martinez was taken into custody at about 3:10 p.m.

At around 1:30 p.m., the Joliet officers were on the lookout for a silver Mazda reported stolen out of the City of Chicago. Later in the afternoon, the officers finally located the vehicle in the area of Black Road and Route 59, and they followed it northbound on River Road.

A Shorewood officer attempted a traffic stop, but Martinez took off at a high rate of speed, ignoring emergency lights and sirens, Joliet police revealed.

"Due to safety concerns, officers deactivated their emergency equipment and terminated the pursuit," Landeros announced.

However, as Martinez approached Theodore Street, he tried to make a right-hand turn and struck a vehicle traveling eastbound on Theodore. Both vehicles came to rest on the north end of the intersection. After Martinez ran from the car, he was apprehended a short time later in the 1700 block of Hidden Oaks Court, Joliet police announced.

During the time Martinez was running around at large, nearby Troy Community Consolidated Schools, William B. Orenic Intermediate School and Wesmere Elementary School were placed on a brief soft lockdown that lasted 9 minutes and was lifted once Martinez was captured.

A 21-year-old male passenger from Joliet, who was riding in the stolen Mazda, was also taken into custody. He was taken to a local hospital for minor crash-related injuries and later released without charges, Landeros noted.

The driver of the struck vehicle sustained minor injuries but was not taken to the hospital.

After being medically cleared, Martinez was transported to the Joliet Police Department for booking, processed, and subsequently transferred to county detention.

Martinez comes from the 1000 block of North Raynor Avenue. He also spent three days in the county jail in June after Joliet police arrested him and two days in the county jail when Joliet police arrested him that time.