JOLIET – Two men were arrested Thursday when police reportedly found 150 grams of cocaine while searching a house.
Director Mike Weber said the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad recently learned Juan E. Ornelas, 26, was "dealing cocaine in the Joliet area." MANS agents obtained a search warrant for Ornelas' residence in the 600 block of Randall Court, which was executed at 8:05 p.m. Thursday, Weber said.
"Ornelas also had a handgun and a bulletproof vest in the residence," Weber said.
Ornelas was arrested on charges of drug trafficking and unauthorized possession of a firearm. Jose Martinez-Magana, 36, who has no listed address, was arrested on a charge of delivery of drugs.
Weber said agents believe Martinez-Magana supplied Ornelas with cocaine to sell. Both men were booked into the Will County Jail.
On April 16, 2008, Ornelas and four other members of the street gang he was affiliated with went into Subway, 121 Collins St. Three members of a rival gang, including Daniel I. Huizar, were at the restaurant and a fight began. Huizar ran outside with a handgun and shot at Ornelas and the other gang members, according to Herald-News reports. Huizar's shots missed his targets but fatally struck Alfredo Lopez, an innocent bystander walking into a nearby store with his two young sons.
Huizar was sentenced to 45 years in prison for Lopez's murder. Ornelas and the others were charged with murder for participating in the gang fight that led to his slaying.
Will County court records indicate Ornelas pleaded guilty to a charge of physical intimidation and agreed to testify against Huizar in exchange for the murder charge being dropped. Ornelas was released from the Department of Corrections last year, according to court records.