Ex-con caught with gun outside Joliet 7-Eleven: cops

A Joliet man was arrested after an officer saw a firearm in his car, which was parked in a handicap spot at a Joliet 7-Eleven.

Jerrell Pugh, 22, already faces charges from June 13, 2020, that accuse him of possessing a Taurus 9 mm semi-automatic pistol while on parole, court records show.

He faces new charges for unlawful firearm possession after his arrest on Monday outside the 7-Eleven at 2405 Essington Road.

About 1:20 a.m., an officer on patrol saw Pugh’s vehicle parked in the handicap spot at the store and noticed it had no handicap placard, Joliet police said.

The officer checked for the handicap placard but then saw a firearm on the floorboard of the driver’s seat, police said.

Pugh had left the store at that point and the offer attempted to speak with him about the firearm, police said, but Pugh shoved past the officer to enter his vehicle.

“Pugh was taken into custody after a brief struggle, in which he continued to resist officers,” police said.

Officers recovered the firearm from Pugh’s vehicle and saw the serial number appeared to have been defaced, police said.

Pugh was taken to the Joliet Police Department, where he made comments that indicated he intended to harm himself, police said. He was hospitalized for an evaluation and then taken to the Will County jail.

Pugh remains in jail. His bond was set at $350,000 bond.

On July 12, 2019, Will County Chief Judge Dan Kennedy sentenced Pugh to a year and a half in prison after Pugh pleaded guilty to carrying a loaded .357 revolver, court records show. Pugh was ordered to serve half that time and was credited with 76 days already served while incarcerated.

Pugh was previously convicted of an aggravated unlawful use of a weapon charge in a 2017 juvenile case, records show.