Joliet inmate swung broomstick at guards: cops

An inmate at the Will County jail faces additional felony charges for using a broomstick to attempt to damage a surveillance camera and swinging it at guards, police said.

About 9 p.m. on Monday, Gregory Rideout, 21, of the 400 block of Market Street in Joliet was ordered by guards to return to his cell after he had spent time in the jail’s dayroom, said Will County sheriff spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer.

Rideout refused to return to his cell, she said. During that time, he found a broom, broke off the brush end and “attempted to damage the surveillance camera with the broomstick,” Hoffmeyer said.

After Rideout was ordered once again to return to his cell, he complied but was still in possession of the broomstick, she said.

The Emergency Response Team was called to the scene, Hoffmeyer said. When members of the team entered Rideout’s cell, he swung the broomstick at them, she said.

The broomstick was taken from Rideout, she said. No one from the Emergency Response Team was injured.

As a result of the incident, Rideout was charged with aggravated assault and possession of contraband in a penal institution, Hoffmeyer said.

At Tuesday’s court hearing, Rideout’s bond was increased to $360,000. He was ordered as a condition of his bond to follow the rules of the jail, court records show.

When Rideout was first taken to jail, it was over an incident where he spat bloody saliva on a police officer on Jan. 23 while he was a patient at AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, according to Joliet police.

At the time, his bond was set at $250,000.

Prosecutors asked for a high bond for Rideout based on his “alleged conduct of putting others at medical risk during a pandemic,” Will County State’s Attorney spokeswoman Carole Cheney said.

Rideout’s bond was increased after he was charged with possessing a knife fashioned from the broken remnant of a food tray on March 1, police said.

On March 9, a judge granted a fitness evaluation for Rideout.

Rideout’s attorney Alex Beck requested one after saying in a motion that his client has “a long history of psychotic behavior and psychiatric treatment.” Beck noted Rideout had prescriptions for numerous psychotropic medications.

“Defendant was recently hospitalized for mental health issues,” Beck’s motion said.