Police say parolee pointed gun at officers
By BRIAN STANLEY Bstanley@stmedianetwork.com April 13, 2012 4:36PM
Updated: May 16, 2012 8:22AM
JOLIET — Police say a man on parole for attempted murder pointed a loaded gun at two officers Thursday night.
Shortly before 10:30 p.m. tactical officers Greg Humphrey and Brian Montello were riding in an unmarked car on Sherman Street when they saw a man crouching between two houses near Mound Street, Chief Mike Trafton said.
“As they pulled to the curb and got out to investigate, Steven M. Gutierrez pulled a handgun from his pocket and pointed it toward them,” Trafton said. Humphrey and Montello reportedly announced they were police as they took cover and Gutierrez took off running.
The suspect was caught after a footchase in the 200 block of Sherman Street and a loaded .38 was found in a nearby yard. Records show the gun was reported stolen in 1983 in Houston, Texas.
Trafton said Gutierrez, 26, was wearing an ankle monitor from the Department of Corrections.
Since November, Gutierrez has been out on parole from a 10-year-sentence for attempted murder. On May 6, 2003, Blake Tillery, then 20, his cousin and two friends were “goofing around” in the early morning hours behind a house on North Chicago Street. Gutierrez, then 17, rode up on a bicycle and asked if they were fighting.
Joliet police said when they told him they were “play-fighting,” Gutierrez dismounted, took a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at the four men.
When the men began running away, Gutierrez fired, striking Tillery in the back. Tillery crawled onto the porch of a nearby house and knocked on the door to ask for help, while one of his companions ran to flag down a police officer.
Tillery survived Gutierrez’s attack, but was fatally shot in January 2010 while trying to rob a Crest Hill liquor store.
On Friday, Gutierrez, of 114 Osgood St., was booked into the county jail on charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated assault, unauthorized possession of a firearm by a gang member and possession of a stolen firearm. A warrant to revoke his parole has also been filed.
Trafton said police have recovered 74 guns so far this year, which is a “substantial and alarming” increase and has become a focus for the department.
Around 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, officers were on patrol in the 1000 block of Antram Street because of an increase in recent shootings when they found John L. Humphrey, 18, of 127 North Ave. in Lockport, and a 15-year-old boy sitting in a parked car.
“When officers made contact they had no explanation why they were waiting in the area and gave consent to be searched,” Cmdr. Al Roechner said. Police reportedly found a loaded .38 with the serial number scratched off in the pocket of Humphrey’s sweatshirt. The 15-year-old boy was reportedly carrying 10 rounds of ammunition for the gun in his pockets.
At 10 p.m. Wednesday, police were called to a fight between several people in the parking lot of 7-11, 1601 E. Cass St., among reports someone was waving a gun around. When officers arrived, Deonte S. Barlow, 19, reportedly jumped into the driver’s seat of a Mazda and bent over. Officers arrested Barlow after spotting the handle of a loaded .22-caliber pistol sticking out near the seat and 10 rounds of ammunition in his pockets. Records show Barlow, of 1325 Fairview Ave., is a convicted felon.
