A 27-year-old Joliet man accused of burglarizing a home on Adella Avenue led police on a chase through parking lots and business properties along West Jefferson Street before officers found him crouched on a garbage compactor outside a Walgreens, a loaded 9mm handgun recovered nearby. Luis Martinez-Duran now faces charges including armed violence, aggravated unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of methamphetamine, on top of the original residential burglary case that first put detectives on his trail.
The chain of events traces back to Sept. 1, when residents returned to their home in the 200 block of Adella Avenue to find it had been burglarized, according to Joliet Police spokesman Dwayne English as reported by Patch. Officers were dispatched at 5:27 p.m. that day, and an evidence technician was brought in to process the scene after the homeowners discovered numerous pieces of jewelry missing. A Joliet police statement relayed by The Herald-News noted that the residents were away from home when the break-in occurred and that investigators determined the suspect had gotten in through a rear door.
Joliet police detectives identified Martinez-Duran as the suspect, and on Sept. 15 they obtained an arrest warrant charging him with residential burglary and two counts of felony theft, according to Fox 32 Chicago. That warrant set the stage for what happened two days later, when officers spotted him driving near Madison and Oneida streets.
A Traffic Stop Turns Into a Foot Chase
Joliet police officers first attempted to pull Martinez-Duran over at 12:57 p.m. Thursday near Madison and Oneida streets, per the Herald-News report, but he refused to stop and instead drove across a grassy area into an adjacent parking lot to escape. Fox 32 Chicago reports he then drove into a lot in the 2200 block of Oneida Street before abandoning his vehicle entirely.
From there, Martinez-Duran fled on foot through several commercial parking lots along West Jefferson Street, according to the same Fox 32 Chicago report, with police saying he carried a gun while running. The pursuit stretched across multiple business properties before officers finally caught up to him outside the Walgreens at 2101 W. Jefferson St., where he had climbed onto a garbage compactor to try to hide, as Patch reported.
Gun and Drugs Recovered at the Scene
Officers took Martinez-Duran into custody near the compactor and recovered a loaded 9mm handgun close to the arrest location, per Joliet police. A subsequent search also turned up suspected methamphetamine, according to police.
Those discoveries added several new counts to Martinez-Duran's case beyond the original burglary warrant. He now faces armed violence, aggravated unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of methamphetamine, fleeing and eluding a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, and violation of pretrial release, according to Fox 32 Chicago.
What the New Charges Could Mean
The armed violence count is especially serious under Illinois law. Committing a felony while armed with a firearm is charged as armed violence, a Class X felony carrying a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison with no eligibility for probation, according to DRD Law. The underlying residential burglary charge remains part of the case.
Martinez-Duran was already on pretrial release at the time of the traffic stop and chase, according to Fox 32 Chicago, which is why he now also faces a violation of pretrial release charge. A new crime or a violation of release conditions can prompt consideration of revoking pretrial release. Illinois eliminated cash bail statewide when the Pretrial Fairness Act took effect in September 2023.
Following his arrest, the Joliet Police Department processed Martinez-Duran and transferred him to the Will County Adult Detention Facility.
