Joliet Police Arrest Man In Connection To Harrah’s Fireworks Incident

A July 4th traffic stop of a party bus in Joliet for blowing through a stop sign leads to the arrest of the man who left fireworks in his hotel room at Harrah’s Casino & Hotel in Joliet on June 30th. The incident last Friday led to the evacuation of the casino and hotel.  The Cook County Bomb Squad was called in to determined that the items found were commercial grade fireworks. Housekeeping staff believed the fireworks were explosives because they were unmarked.

Meanwhile, on July 4th, 42-year-old Thomas Lopez of Joliet was arrested after being on the party bus and police allegedly found cocaine and two other drugs. Lopez is no stranger to police, he arrested on 32 counts including aggravated battery in April of this year, he’s been arrested in 2019 and 2015.

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Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans tells WJOL that Harrah’s  casino and hotel in Joliet has been evacuated.  A  half stick of high-grade fireworks was found in one of the rooms in the hotel. There is no wick or igniting device attached to the large firework but police still want to make sure that it’s there by accident.  A sweep of the entire property, including the parking decks,  is taking place and the police are trying to find the man, who the room is registered to to confirm that this was an accident.