Cop Able to Head Off Man Reaching for Gun in Coat Pocket, Police Say
Suspicious behavior prompts officer to follow Deshawn Bew when he boarded a bus for downtown; when confronted, Bew reached for a revolver, police said.
A Joliet police officer prevented a theft suspect from pulling a gun on him by putting him into a body lock before the man could retrieve a revolver from his sweatshirt pocket, Cmdr. Rich Demick said.
Deshawn T. Bew, 18, of 1107 Woodward, Joliet, was first spotted by off-duty Officer Michael Reilly as he was walking on Jefferson Street near Joyce Road on Dec. 31. Reilly recognized him from a flier identifying him as a theft suspect and alerted police, Demick said.
Officer Brian Lanton answered the call and observed that each time he drove toward Bew, the suspect would turn and head in the opposite direction, Demick said.
Eventually, Bew boarded a Pace bus and took it downtown to the Will County Courthouse, 14 W. Jefferson St. Lanton followed in his squad car, Demick said.
When the officer confronted Bew, the suspect reached into his pocket, prompting Lanton to move behind the man and put his arms around him before he couldn't take any further action, Demick said. When Lanton felt the gun's cylinder, he handcuffed Bew and arrested him on charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and possessing a firearm without a valid FOID card, he said.
Bew told police later that he found the gun when he was walking on Jefferson, Demick said.
Bew was also charged with felony theft stemming from a Dec. 13 incident in which he allegedly snatched the purse of a woman in the parking lot of the Ultra Foods store, 1590 N. Larkin Ave. In that case, the victim said Bew made off with her $1,200 Louis Vuitton handbag that contained a $50 Coach wallet and $2 cash, Demick said.
It was the flier seeking Bew's arrest for the purse snatching that Reilly remembered when he saw the suspect on Jefferson, Demick said.
Because Bew was out on bond for an unrelated retail theft arrest, he was also charged with a violation of his bail bond agreement. That means he will likely forfeit the bail money paid for his release in that case, Demick said.
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In This article
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Joliet Police Department
150 W Washington St, Joliet, IL -
City of Joliet
150 W Jefferson St, Joliet, IL -
Will County Courthouse
14 W Jefferson St, Joliet, IL -
Ultra Foods
1590 N Larkin Ave, Joliet, IL
Mr. Joliet
8:40 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Well done Officer Reilly & the Joliet Police Department!
D to the T
9:08 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Another thug/pile of human waste off the streets. Thank you, JPD!
steveisqueer
9:21 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Hopefully someone shoots him like they did his brother! Another piece of crap off the streets...for now!
Old Newspaper Guy
9:35 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Good job Officer!! The best part was the purse snatching, someone with a $1,200 Louis Vuitton handbag shopping at Ultra Foods!?!?
DRECKS
10:13 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
And only $2 in the purse
suzy Q
11:07 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
REALLY? She has a EXPENSIVE purse and only 2.00 in cash????!!!
Kristine Neumann
11:44 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Just because someone only has $2 in cash doesn't mean someone doesn't have money. Ever hear of a debit card or charge cards?
Jacki McHale
7:23 am on Friday, January 4, 2013
Exactly. I rarely have any cash!
MissScorpio
11:48 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
@Stevieisqueer what do you mean you hope they shots him like they did his brother? Do you know something I don't know? Why would you wish death on anybody? SMH! You know God don't like ugly, The death that you're wishing on him can easily be you or one of you're loved ones. It's called KARMA!
MissScorpio
11:51 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Typo Shoots
Reality Bytes!
8:51 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
The only thing that could have made this story better is if the officer had blown his brains all over the floor... An obvious gang member, with tattoos on his face, he will be a career criminal for sure and a drain on our economic future. We'll support this piece of garbage for the rest of his life because as soon as he gets out, he will resort to being a piece of crap once again!!!
William Taylor
7:33 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The good thing is that the ofiicer, was a trained professional and had enough common since to handle the situation in professional manner. Now on the other hand a civilian with CCW probably the one with the blow his brains out mentality would be laying on the ground bleeding out and begging the thug to spare me please spare me.
Spice1
2:54 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
Instead of killing good black kids like Trayvon Martin, Jonylah Watkins and Hadiya Pendleton, why cant some of these fools ever take a bullet? Good Job officers, but you should have done the city a favor and quietly drove him off to some cornfield and launched one. Just one. He aint even worth more than that........ I just hate cowards that prey on the elderly. My mom is 72 and she lives in a neighborhood where monkeys like this are walking around at all times of the night. Tattoos on face, never had a job, chip on their shoulder cause they feel like the world owes them something.
William Taylor
5:01 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
Spice 1, I feel your anger. Sometimes I wonder myself why people do the things that they do. It is a lot of Americans out of work and no jobs. Desperate strokes for ignorant folks. I too despise cowards,and that dude is a creepy. Sad part is this clown is allowed to come home and draw on his face , live there, and no one is man or woman enough at home to check this punk. Let the blame lie where it should ...his ate up parents .