Police officers from multiple law enforcement agencies, including local, county, state and federal entities, participated in, Operation 420 yesterday (April 20, 2022). The operation’s objective was to apprehend fugitives that have either failed to show up for their court dates or that were otherwise wanted on outstanding warrants, while also enforcing traffic laws and searching for other criminal conduct.

“I am extremely appreciative for all of the agencies and each of the officers that participated in this successful, collaborative effort,” said Sheriff Mike Downey. “In addition to sheriff’s deputies, Operation 420 was made up of officers from the Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (KAMEG), Illinois State Police, the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force, the United States Marshals Service Greater Lakes Task Force, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kankakee Police Department, the Bradley Police Department, the Bourbonnais Police Department, the Manteno Police Department, the Momence Police Department, the St. Anne Police Department, and the Kankakee County States’ Attorney’s Office. Anytime local resources are shared, our community benefits.” Downey added.

The efforts resulted in 14 warrant arrests, 1 non-warrant drug-related arrest, 3 recovered firearms (including a ghost gun with no serial number, a drum-magazine, numerous rifle magazines and over 250 rounds of ammunition), 3 impounded vehicles, 3 domestic related offenses, and 2 federal charges for weapons offenses, 10 written warnings, 7 state citations and seizing quantities of cocaine, cannabis and heroin.

Of the 14 warrant arrests, some have already posted bond and have been released while those that were unable to post bond have a court appearance tomorrow.

“Serving warrants tends to be one of the most dangerous jobs in law enforcement, and many of these warrants are for something as simple as the offender failing to appear in court,” Sheriff Mike Downey said. “It is an officer safety issue, as well as a public safety issue, when those who should be in jail are re-offending while out of jail.”

In some cases, individuals have been released on a Recognizance Bond (meaning they didn’t have to post any money for bond) multiple times and the court is forced to issue warrants on multiple missed court appearances. This will get worse after January 1, 2023 when No Cash Bail goes into effect.

Covid-19 has created a lot of issues regarding individual’s court dates and it can certainly be confusing. It is an easy process for anyone to review their court case on-line. Anyone can go to www.kankakeecountycircuitclerk.com and click on “Case Lookup” to check the status of your case. If a person discovers that a warrant has been issued for them, they should appear in court and advise the court.

“Warrant Wednesday is always an option, but we know most people don’t want to end up on Warrant Wednesday. The easiest way to avoid Warrant Wednesday is to show up to court!” Downey added.