A SWAT team helped search the home of a convicted felon, where a handgun, rifle and ammunition were found, resulting in his arrest in McHenry Tuesday morning after officials say he had talked about harming officers.
Jacob M. Pierce, 41, of McHenry, was charged with three counts of unlawful possession of weapons or ammunition by a convicted felon, a Class 3 felony.
The McHenry Police Department responded to two calls for service involving Pierce over the weekend, one for a domestic dispute and the other for a welfare check, police officials said.
Officers developed information during those calls that Pierce, a convicted felon, was likely in possession of a firearm.
Police opened an investigation and obtained a search warrant for Pierce’s home in the 4300 block of West Clearview Drive in McHenry.
Pierce also allegedly made statements about harming any law enforcement officer who came to his residence, police said.
The department requested help from the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS) Emergency Services Team, a SWAT team, to carry out the search warrant because of the circumstances, police officials said.
NIPAS is a joint venture of suburban municipal police agencies that provides mutual aid and the McHenry Police Department has been a longtime member.
The McHenry Police Department issued an alert around 8:50 a.m. Tuesday asking residents to avoid the area of Oak Drive between Orleans Street and Parkway Drive due to a “contained police investigation” with an increased police presence.
Tactical officers were seen gathered around an armored NIPAS rescue vehicle, with one officer holding a rifle in the vehicle’s roof hatch, while other NIPAS Emergency Services Team vehicles were parked nearby.
Officers located and seized a handgun, a rifle and ammunition during the search of Pierce’s home, the police department said.
The guns were a Beretta 9mm pistol and a Bushmaster 5.56 rifle and the ammunition included a large quantity of 9mm pistol rounds and .223-caliber rifle rounds, according to a criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court.
Pierce was found in his vehicle near the scene and taken into custody without incident and no injuries were reported, police said.
Officers were seen allowing Pierce to smoke a cigarette while he stood handcuffed, with one officer holding a lighter to it.
McHenry County Animal Control reportedly took at least one large dog from the home after the arrest.
It was unclear whether any other dogs were removed from the residence. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Police announced around 10:05 a.m. that Oak Drive had reopened and that some police presence might still be seen in the area.
Pierce was transported to the McHenry County Jail and is awaiting an Initial Appearance Court hearing.
It was not immediately known whether the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office would file a petition to detain Pierce pending trial.
A next-door neighbor told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that Pierce was a nice guy but had some issues.
The neighbor said Pierce lived at the home with his girlfriend and brought in a number of renters after the two broke up.
All of the renters suddenly left a couple of months ago, according to the neighbor.
The McHenry Police Department thanked the community for its cooperation during the incident.
“While the heavy police presence may be alarming to some, it is to ensure the safety of the arrestee, the responding officers, and the members of the community,” the police department said.
The investigation remains ongoing and additional charges are possible, police said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the McHenry Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division at 815-363-2599 or the department’s anonymous tip line, which does not use caller ID, at 815-363-2124.