A Joliet police officer pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he stole a counterfeit $100 bill from an impounded vehicle and used it to buy lottery tickets at a gas station.

On Wednesday, Christopher McClinton, 26, appeared at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet for his arraignment after he was indicted on charges of forgery, official misconduct and theft.

McClinton’s next court date was set for Feb. 10.

Will County Chief Judge Dan Kennedy assigned McClinton’s case to Will County Judge John Connor.

The charges alleged McClinton used a counterfeit $100 to buy a lottery ticket on July 13 from Thornton’s gas station, 400 Collins St., Joliet.

McClinton is still on the force, but he’s been on a personal medical leave, according to Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English.

The city’s inspector general is handling the internal investigation of McClinton. Those investigations are usually handled by the department’s internal affairs unit.

Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans chose to assign the investigation to the inspector general “due to a conflict of interest regarding a personnel matter,” English said.

Attorney Colin “CJ” Haney, of The Tomczak Law Group, will represent McClinton in his criminal case.

Attorney Jeff Tomczak’s law firm has represented numerous Joliet police officers in criminal cases over the years, including retired Joliet Police Sgt. Javier Esqueda. His official misconduct case was dismissed last year in Kendall County.

Esqueda is now pursuing a federal lawsuit against the city over claims of retaliation when he leaked a squad video regarding the controversial 2020 in-custody death of Eric Lurry Jr., 37.

Michael Devito, a former president of Joliet’s Fraternal Order of Police, spoke positively about Tomczak in a 2021 deposition of a federal lawsuit case filed by Joliet Police Officer Cassandra Socha, court records show. Socha’s husband had also been represented by Tomczak in a trial that led to an acquittal.