Crime & Safety

Teens Stole Car, Threw Rocks at Drivers, Broke into House: Police

The mini-crime spree was allegedly carried out Sunday afternoon by three suspects, ages 16 and 17, Joliet police said.

Three teens on a mini-crime spree Sunday stole a car, broke into a house and threw rocks at vehicles at Caton Farm and County Line roads, Joliet police said.


Eli Jones Mills, 17, of 2911 Reflection Drive, Plainfield; Christopher O. Oanea, 17, of Cypress, Texas; and a 16-year-old were arrested Sunday night after police pieced together their alleged criminal activities from earlier in the day, Joliet Capt. Tab Jensen said.

The initial call to police was at about 4:50 p.m. in reference to three teens blocking the Caton Farm/County Line intersection with barricades and pelting drivers with stones when they stopped to move them, Jensen said.

The three fled when police arrived, he said. Officers tracked the 16-year-old to a nearby vacant home in the 7200 block of Illusion after spotting a broken basement window, Jensen said.

The trio had apparently broken into the home earlier in the day, and moved a neighbor's patio furniture into the house so they would have something to sit on, he said.

Officers patrolling the area for the other suspects found two backpacks, one of which included Mills' name and address, Jensen said. They found Mills and Oanea at Mills' home on Reflection Drive, he said.

After interviewing them, police were able to link the three suspects to a car that had been stolen earlier in the day from a home in the 2400 block of Twin Fountain Court, Jensen said. The teens had been walking in the area looking for unlocked cars when they discovered a vehicle with the keys in the ignition and decided to take it for a ride, he said.

They ended up wrecking the car while doing "doughnuts" in the area of County Line Road and Pyramid Drive, Jensen said.

Mills was charged with burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, criminal damage to property, criminal trespass to a residence, theft, resisting a peace officer, possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Oanea was charged with burglary, vehicle theft conspiracy, criminal damage to property, theft and resisting a peace officer

The 16-year-old was charged with burglary, theft, criminal damage to property, criminal trespass to residence and a curfew violation.

Mills and Oanea are being held in the Will County jail pending a bond hearing. The 16-year-old is being held in the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center.

The incident isn't the first report of rocks being thrown or barricades blocking vehicles on Caton Farm Road; in June, Plainfield-area residents reported being pelted with rocks in the same area.


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