Joliet Man Must Lose His 2021 Jeep Gladiator After Rock Run Forest Preserve Arrest: Forfeiture

JOLIET, IL ? A 52-year-old resident of Joliet, David Stanislaus now finds himself facing the prospect of losing his 2021 Jeep Gladiator as a result of his late September arrest by the Will County Forest Preserve Police at Joliet's Rock Run Trail Black Road Access. The Will County State's Attorney's Office last week filed a civil forfeiture against Stanislaus, desiring to take his Jeep Gladiator and give the vehicle to another police agency or sell the Jeep at a public auction.

According to the complaint, Officer Caitlin Mosier was on patrol at Rock Run Trail when she spotted the Jeep Gladiator and conducted a vehicle registration check. She learned that David Stanislaus had a suspended driver's license as a result of his past DUIs.

When she saw Stanislaus driving toward the forest preserve exit, she pulled him over.

"David Stanislaus refused to identify himself and refused to show proof of valid insurance," the complaint noted. Eventually, Will County Forest Police Sgt. Richard Lewandowski arrived on the scene to assist and "Officer Mosier and Sgt. Lewandowski assisted David Stanislaus out of the ... vehicle. David's son showed up on scene and began videoing the incident."

According to the complaint, Officer Mosier found David Stanislaus' identification during a police inventory of his Jeep.

The Forest Preserve had the Jeep towed and Stanislaus went to the Forest Preserve Police Department for booking. He was given citations for driving while license suspended and operating an uninsured vehicle.

The forfeiture has been set for Dec. 3 at the Will County Courthouse. As for Stanislaus, he lives in the 3100 block of Joliet's Galena Drive. He and Bank of America out of Jacksonville, Florida, were both notified about the Jeep forfeiture filing from Will County's State's Attorney's Office.

In October, Will County prosecutors also charged Stanislaus with obstructing a peace officer because "defendant failed to exit the vehicle when lawfully instructed to do so" on Sept. 18.

In 2024, Joliet police arrested Stanislaus on charges of resisting a peace officer and obstructing a peace officer. In that case, on April 10, 2024, Stanislaus pulled away from Joliet police officer Robert Mau Jr. during his arrest and refused to step out of the vehicle, the criminal complaint noted.

In November 2023, a Will County grand jury indicted Stanislaus on charges of aggravated driving under the influence after he was driving the same 2021 Jeep Gladiator on Route 30 in Plainfield while under the influence of alcohol, court records show.

Stanislaus also has prior DUIs from September 1997 in Du Page County and 2000 in Will County, prosecutors noted.

In January, Morris radio station WCSJ published a crime story on Stanislaus, headlined, "Man With 3 Prior DUIs Wanted In Grundy County." The article indicated that the then-51-year-old Joliet man was now wanted in Grundy County after failing to appear in court. In Grundy County, Stanislaus faced aggravated DUI, a three counts of Aggravated DUI and driving while license suspended after Morris Police arrested him in May 2024 at Interstate 80, the Morris radio station reported.