A Round Lake man out on bond for threatening to commit a shooting at the Waukegan social security office refused to turn over his guns after state police revoked his FOID card last week, prosecutors said.
Juan A. Diaz Jr., 50, of the 200 block of West Treehouse Lane in Round Lake, was charged with one count of harassment through electronic communications, a Class 4 felony.
Diaz made a claim for social security benefits, which was denied, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Lindsay Hicks said during a bond hearing.
Diaz, upset with the denial, called the social security case manager and stated, “I’m going to come down there and shoot them all like the mass shooting that just happened,” Hicks said.
Round Lake police officers responded to Diaz’s residence and asked him if he had any weapons.
Diaz indicated “he was not going to give them up.” Diaz did have a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card, Hicks said.
The incident occurred on July 6 and Diaz was later arrested by the Waukegan Police Department, court records show.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak set Diaz’s bond at $100,000, which he posted $10,000 cash and was released from custody.
Potkonjak ordered him to not have any contact with the social security office, located at 1930 North Lewis Avenue in Waukegan, and with Congressman Brad Schneider’s office. It was not clear what incident occurred with Schneider’s office.
Potkonjak also ordered Diaz to surrender his FOID card and all his firearms as a condition of his bond.
During a Friday court hearing after Diaz had been released from jail, Assistant State’s Attorney Melinda Lange said that a “Clear and Present Danger” form had been submitted to the Illinois State Police.
The state police have since revoked the man’s Firearm Owner’s Identification card following the report.
Lange said officers went back to Diaz’s home to take his guns, as part of his bond conditions, but the man told officers to “f–k themselves.”
Lange asked Potkonjak to again order Diaz to surrender all of his guns by 5 p.m. that day.
Officers were able to confiscate his firearms the same day without incident, Round Lake Deputy Police Chief Robert Bell said.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 3.