Proactive police bring in guns

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Updated: March 16, 2012 8:15AM

JOLIET — Police seized five guns and made three arrests in unrelated cases Monday night and early Tuesday.

“These were all self-initiated arrests from officers on the street instead of responding to a call,” Cmdr. Rich Demick said.

First arrest

The first arrest occurred around 7:50 p.m. when Officers Eric Payne and Matt Liebermann stopped a vehicle near Collins and Jackson streets.

“When the driver, Alfonso Sanchez, opened the glove box for his insurance card, they saw a black .38-caliber revolver inside,” Demick said.

The weapon was loaded and Sanchez, 30, did not have a firearm owner’s identification card.

During questioning, Sanchez reportedly admitted having another gun in his residence at 306 S. Briggs St. and allowed police to search.

“They only found two different types of ammunition, but were also directed to 729 Meeker Ave., where they found an assault rifle,” Demick said.

Sanchez was charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm and one count of unauthorized possession of ammunition and booked into the county jail.

Second stop

At 11:17 p.m., tactical Officers Brian Montello and Greg Humphrey stopped a vehicle in the 1400 block of Burry Street.

“The driver, Darron Prince, 24, got out and started running,” Demick said. “As he took off, he dropped an Intratech Tech .22-caliber handgun.”

Demick said the firearm, which resembles an Uzi, had 27 rounds in the clip.

According to reports, Prince was caught in the 1400 block of Coral Bell Drive.

Prince, of 1519 Starr Drive, was booked into the county jail on charges of unlawful use of a weapon, defacing the identifying marks of a firearm and obstructing a police officer.

His passenger, Larry Knight, 22, of 1230 Gage Court, was charged with cannabis possession.

Final incident

Officer Marc Wietting was off-duty but in uniform at 2:40 a.m. Tuesday when something caught his attention at George Avenue and Cypress Lane.

“As he was leaving an assignment, he saw a man walking across the street carrying two rifle cases,” Demick said.

Diamond D. Anderson, 17, reportedly fled when Wietting told him to stop. Police set up a perimeter around the neighborhood and stopped Anderson at Theodore Street and Pioneer Lane.

“He was carrying rifles that had been stolen a short time earlier when several vehicles were burglarized in a nearby unincorporated area,” Demick said.

Anderson, of 21527 Eich Drive in Crest Hill, was charged with possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by a gang member and burglary to a motor vehicle.