Vigilante Tries Shooting Murphy's Cigarette Thief: Joliet Police

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Police Department has obtained a felony bench warrant for the arrest of a 67-year-old Aurora man accused of shooting his gun at someone who stole cigarettes at Joliet's Murphy USA gas station on West Jefferson Street three months ago.

Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow has charged Issac Neal with aggravated discharge of a gun and unlawful use of a weapon by a convicted felon. The Dec. 28 shooting happened at the Joliet gas station located at 2504 West Jefferson St.

According to Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English, squad cars responded to Murphy's at 9:22 p.m. for a report of gunshots. Officers learned that a cigarette thief just ran out of the store and the man got into his car, a gray Infinity I-35, and sped away.

"Further investigation revealed that Neal was on scene during the incident at which time he fired multiple gunshots at the suspect who stole the cigarettes, striking the suspect’s vehicle," Joliet police reports show. "Neal then fled the scene in a vehicle. Officers recovered multiple shell casings at the scene."

Joliet's detectives later identified Neal as being the person "who fired a gun at the retail theft suspect," police reports show.

Joliet police said that Neal was not an employee at the Murphy's station, however, the attendants told police that Neal "is at the store quite often."

Then, last week, the Will County State's Attorney's staff filed two felony charges against Neal. Will County Judge Fred Harvey issued a warrant for the Aurora man's arrest. Harvey also set bail at $250,000 for the defendant.

Neal lives in the 1300 block of Aurora's South Fourth Street, according to Will County court records. As of March 25, he has not been taken into custody.

The Will County Sheriff's Office has details of his pending criminal charges and a photo of Neal on its felony warrants website, in hopes that people can help the Joliet Police Department locate him.