SWAT Team Responds to Gunshots in Plainfield Township

Two men were arrested early Sunday after making an alcohol-fueled decision to fire off some rounds with a semi-automatic pistol in a Plainfield Township backyard, police said.

Hank M. Robinson, 25, is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and not having a firearm owner’s identification (FOID) card following the incident at his home at 23542 W. Bentley Dr., located near Bronk and Caton Farm roads.

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A second man, Carmen R. Nero III, 33, of the 2800 block of Warren Dorris Drive in Joliet, was also arrested on charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and lacking a FOID card, according to Will County Deputy Chief Ken Kaupas.

No one was hurt in the incident, according to police.

Kaupas said Joliet police received a call around 3:30 a.m. from neighbors who said shots had been fired at the residence.

Upon arriving, Joliet police discovered Robinson, clad only in shorts and a T-shirt, in the backyard.

Robinson, who refused to cooperate with police, had apparently been locked out of the home.

Kaupas said the other individuals at the house had shut the door behind Robinson and locked it. According to police, five adults and one child were inside the home. Kaupas said he did not know the age of the child.

After realizing the Plainfield Township home was under the jurisdiction of the Will County Sheriff’s Department, Joliet police contacted the sheriff’s office, Kaupas said.

After the occupants of the home failed to answer their telephones and would not come out of the house, Will County’s Special Operations Group (SOG) responded to the scene and took up tactical positions, Kaupas said.

“It’s what you would call a SWAT team,” he added, but noted that the extra firepower wasn’t necessary. At around 6 a.m., an SOG member using a bullhorn ordered the occupants to leave the home, and they finally complied.

The adults were interviewed at the Will County Sheriff’s Department investigative office, where investigators determined Robinson and Nero were responsible for firing the weapon.

“One or both of them admitted they were intoxicated and decided to fire some shots in the backyard,” Kaupas said, adding one round may also have been fired inside the house. “Alcohol played a role in this.”

Investigators recovered 13 shell casings from a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol.

Though an initial search of the house failed to turn up the gun, detectives who interviewed Robinson and Nero learned the weapon had been stashed in the attic. It was later recovered by investigators, Kaupas said.

Despite the tactical response, police don’t believe the occupants of the home were in any real danger, according to Kaupas.

“They weren’t shooting at each other,” he said. “There was no indication of an argument.”

Because a child was present at the home, Kaupas said the Department of Children and Family Services was called in to assist following the incident.

The early-morning stunt could send Robinson back to prison, police said. According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, he was paroled in April 2012 after serving 15 months on a conviction for multiple burglaries.

He also did time after a 2006 conviction for damaging property, according to IDOC.

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