Semi-Automatic Rifle, 95 Pills Seized After Joliet Police Chase

JOLIET, IL — Joliet police recovered a semi-automatic rifle and 95 Oxycodone pills following a chase that began in the 700 block of Plainfield Road on Tuesday night and ended in the 500 block of Eastern Avenue. Joliet resident Francisco Rosas, 27, was charged with resisting the arrest and possession of controlled substances. A 17-year-old boy was also arrested on two charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding a peace officer and two counts of resisting arrest.

The criminal investigation of the semi-automatic rifle remains ongoing, police said.

At 10:01 p.m, a Joliet squad car tried to stop the car with Rosas and the juvenile, but "the driver refused to stop the vehicle and a pursuit ensued," according to police.

The fleeing suspects drove to the east side of Joliet, but their car broke down on Eastern Avenue; they tried to make a run for it, according to police.

When officers captured Rosas, he had 95 Oxycodone pills in a clear plastic bag, police said.

A police dog was brought to the scene to track down the missing juvenile.

"The K9 track led to the 200 block of Irving Street where officers recovered a firearm partially hidden below a landscape brick," reports show.

Joliet police spotted the hiding 17-year-old, and he tried to run again, but this time officers caught him. "Officers retracing the path of the pursuit recovered a backpack in the street near the 600 block of Summit. The backpack contained a semiautomatic rifle and cannabis. This case remains under investigation," police reports state.

Rosas lives in the 300 block of Eastern Avenue. His bail was set at $100,000, and he remained in Will County's detention center on Wednesday night.

The 17-year-old ended up at the River Valley Juvenile Justice Center on McDonough Street, police said.