Joliet Shooter Found At Home Cut Donuts Urinated On Himself, Passed Out In Squad Car: Prosecutor
JOLIET, IL — Andrew Planeta, a 47-year-old union painter who resides in Joliet, will not be released back in the community because of the dangerousness standard set forth in the Illinois SAFE-T-Act, Will County Judge Derek Ewanic ruled Thursday afternoon in Courtroom 202. Joliet police arrested Planeta on Tuesday inside the
Planeta's loaded gun — that he used to shoot in the direction of someone's house in Joliet — was found by Joliet police in plain view inside his car at the Home Cut Donuts parking lot, according to Will County prosecutor Tricia McKenna.
When Joliet police tracked the shooter's car to the Home Cut Donuts, officers found Planeta seated inside the bakery and his gun was left in plain view on his passenger's seat, the windows were rolled down and the car engine was running, McKenna noted.
Planeta ultimately urinated on himself and during his Joliet police squad car ride back to the station he passed out, the prosecutor revealed. Planeta has four prior DUI convictions, and this marks his 5th DUI offense, McKenna told Judge Ewanic.
Planeta was already on probation at the time of his Home Cut Donuts arrest for a DUI in Clark County, Neveda and a DUI here in nearby Kane County. Planeta also has a criminal conviction for a reckless discharge of a gun in 1995. He served a prison sentence in 1996 after being convicted of possession of a gun by a felon, McKenna told Judge Ewanic.
Defense attorney Neil Patel urged the judge to place his new client on GPS monitoring or house arrest. Patel explained that his client would obtain a SCRAM device to prevent him from driving if alcohol was detected on his breath.
Although the Will County Jail lists Planeta as living at an address in Morris, Patel said his client has owned his home in Joliet for the past 10 years, where he lives with his fiancée. Planeta also has two grown kids, ages 25 and 19. Planeta is a member of
Patel questioned whether the prosecution has sufficient evidence to tie his client to this week's neighborhood shooting in the 100 block of Margaret Street and the aggravated DUI offense, noting that there was no chemical testing performed by the Joliet police.
He suggested that because the windows were open, someone could have walked by and put the gun inside his client's car parked at Home Cut Donuts.
Patel said the Joliet police observation that his client had "balance issues" and fell asleep during the squad car ride don't prove his client is guilty of aggravated DUI. However, Patel acknowledged that his client "has a history of DUI" but that does not make Planeta a violent criminal.
Judge Ewanic ruled Planeta could be a danger to the Joliet woman who saw the shooting; she called 911 after furnishing Planeta's license plate and vehicle description to authorities. And given that Planeta is facing a fifth DUI, Ewanic announced that releasing the Joliet man from the Will County Jail could put the entire community in danger.
The judge said he was particularly troubled by the fact that Planeta is currently on probation out of two different states, both involving DUI convictions.
