Prosecutors say a convicted felon broke his 10-year-old son’s tablet when the child tried to call his mother, then loaded a gun as the boy waited by the door before a SWAT team later helped search his home in McHenry Tuesday.
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.
Prosecutors said Pierce flashed one of his guns around his 10-year-old son while he was highly intoxicated.
The boy told Pierce he wanted to leave and when the boy tried to call his mother, Pierce broke the tablet he uses to contact her, court documents said.
The boy was waiting by the door for his mother when he heard Pierce load his gun, a sound he described as a “pop,” court documents said.
Pierce then saw the boy standing by the doorway, grabbed him by the face and told him to “look in his eyes,” court documents said.
Pierce allegedly followed the boy to the front porch with the pistol in his waistband where he again grabbed him by the face and told him to “look into his eyes.”
Pierce’s roommate called police a day later and said he was wearing an army vest while saying, “I will kill you all,” court documents said.
The roommate felt in danger because of Pierce’s threats and actions, prosecutors said.
Police opened an investigation and obtained a search warrant for Pierce’s home in the 4300 block of West Clearview Drive in McHenry due to the firearm allegations.
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.
Prosecutors said Pierce had the pistol and rifle loaded inside his home, along with multiple magazines and ammunition for both guns.
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.
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Pierce pending trial, arguing his release would pose a real and present threat to the safety of the community.
McHenry County Judge Cynthia Lamb granted the petition following an Initial Appearance Court hearing on Wednesday afternoon.
“GPS will only keep him away from a certain location or locations. It will not protect all the individuals who this defendant poses a threat to,” Lamb said.
“Electronic monitoring will only keep him in his residence for certain periods of time each day, but that will not stop him from acting out, as it was in his home that these threats were made,” Lamb said.
The judge said Pierce still acquired and possessed two firearms and ammunition despite knowing his Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card was revoked.
Lamb said in her ruling that Pierce has five prior felony convictions, including residential burglary, retail theft and burglary, along with misdemeanor convictions for theft and drug possession.
Lamb ordered Pierce, who was appointed a public defender, not to call his son or roommate from jail.
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.
Pierce is scheduled to appear in court again on October 14 for a status hearing and the setting of a trial date.
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.