Search warrant for ammo without a FOID

[Euler]

Lake & McHenry County Scanner said:→

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Joel Fernandez, 20, was arrested without incident at his residence in the 1400 block of Clayton Marsh Drive in Lake in the Hills and was charged with four counts of possessing ammunition without a valid Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card, a Class A misdemeanor.
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At around 9:50 a.m. Thursday, the Lake in the Hills Police Department -- assisted by the Carpentersville Police Department and the McHenry County Sheriff's multijurisdictional SWAT team -- executed a search warrant at Fernandez's residence.
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A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges that Fernandez knowingly possessed -- without a valid FOID card -- 20 cartridges of .45 Auto Sellier & Bellot branded full metal jacket (FMJ), 13 cartridges of .223 Remington branded steel core FMJ, one cartridge of 9mm Blazer Brass branded FMJ, one cartridge of 9mm Remington-Peters branded FMJ, one cartridge of 9mm Speer branded jacketed hollow point (JHP), and two cartridges of 9mm Sig Sauer branded JHP.
...
Fernandez does not have any prior criminal cases against him in McHenry County.

The SWAT operation prompted police to issue Nixle and social media alerts advising residents to shelter in place, but it did not specify an exact radius of the order.
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"That order was in effect for less than one hour," the police department said.
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A nearby pre-school was reportedly on lockdown, but other schools in the Lake in the Hills area were not reported to be on lockdown.
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Edited February 27, 2026 at 08:18 AM by Euler

[mauserme]

It seems like there might be a back story to this.

 

 

[Jeffrey]

The reason for the warrant was because they knew he had a few rounds in his possession?  Tell me more...

If he has no criminal past, what a great set up for removing 21 for hand guns.  But it would be acceptable for him to sign up for the military and could have much more access to much bigger weapons.

[davel501]

On 2/27/2026 at 6:04 AM, mauserme said:

It seems like there might be a back story to this.

 

 

 

I sure hope so. 

[EdDinIL]

I'm not sure if McHenry County is officially a 2A sanctuary or not, but that's a heavy response just for ammo.  Several years ago, the McHenry County SWAT was at my neighbor's house in full gear looking for a felonious family fugitive.  Scared the bejeezus out of my wife when she was on the front porch enjoying a morning breath of fresh air and they came walking around the house.  There was no call for a shelter-in-place order then, and the town PD didn't even know it was happening until it was over.  

 

I assume that they executed a search warrant to find something else, but then arrested the guy to make him sweat and snitch on someone.  The article said the arrestee had no prior criminal record in McHenry County, but not if he had no record whatsoever.

[Billy Bob]

I used to follow the McHenry County Blog fairly closely  before the format changed and readers were no longer able to comment. There were a lot of stories on the older version of the blog about the LITH PD assisting the ISP on FOID matters. I don't know whether this was simply a case of the PD having a very active press liaison or whether the department actually had an aggressive agenda against firearm ownership. It just struck me as odd that a smallish local PD would have the manpower to do so much of the ISP's job for them.

Edited February 27, 2026 at 09:39 PM by Billy Bob
Clarity

[mab22]

On 2/27/2026 at 3:31 PM, Billy Bob said:

I used to follow the McHenry County Blog fairly closely  before the format changed and readers were no longer able to comment. There were a lot of stories on the older version of the blog about the LITH PD assisting the ISP on FOID matters. I don't know whether this was simply a case of the PD having a very active press liaison or whether the department actually had an aggressive agenda against firearm ownership. It just struck me as odd that a smallish local PD would have the manpower to do so much of the ISP's job for them.

Gotta get some use outta those SWAT outfits and an excuse to break out the gear! 
 

 

[EdDinIL]

On 2/27/2026 at 3:55 PM, mab22 said:

Gotta get some use outta those SWAT outfits and an excuse to break out the gear! 
 

 

LITH = LARP in the Hills

[Euler]

If there had been domestic violence, he would have been charged with domestic violence. He wasn't.
If there had been firearms, he would have been charged with firearm possession. He wasn't.
If there had been drugs, he would have been charged with drug possession. He wasn't.

He got SWAT'd for a handful of onesies/twosies ammo.

The affidavit for the warrant would be informative.

[mab22]

Wonder if it was similar to this SWAT scene form the Blues Brothers documentary? 
For a handful of random target ammo... 

 

 

[EdDinIL]

On 2/27/2026 at 4:02 PM, Euler said:

If there had been domestic violence, he would have been charged with domestic violence. He wasn't.
If there had been firearms, he would have been charged with firearm possession. He wasn't.
If there had been drugs, he would have been charged with drug possession. He wasn't.

He got SWAT'd for a handful of onesies/twosies ammo.

The affidavit for the warrant would be informative.

We have no idea what the warrant was actually for, though, just that he was arrested and then released at 2:40 pm today (per inmate search) after being charged.  If they thought the house was going to be full of guns and drugs, but all they had was the ammo, then these charges are meant to be leverage to get him to talk.  His court hearing is on March 5.  Maybe they'll drum up more charges in the meantime.

[Billy Bob]

Some people on the LITH PD Facebook page are somewhat incredulous about calling out SWAT for a misdemeanor ammo pinch.  Of course, there are also a number of white knighters who will abide no criticism of the boys in blue.

 

facebook.com/LakeintheHillsPolice

[top_notch]

What an arsenal.  A half box of ammo and loose rifle rounds.

[RedWrangler]

I was driving my wife's car the other day. In the cupholder were a screwdriver (mine) and eight random rounds - 9mm, .22 and .45 - (also mine).  Some had dimpled primers, some had pocket lint.... 

 

It's a good thing (especially around Christmas) that she has a FOID!

[GSDlady]

Couple of sentences that were not in Euler's post (article may have been updated  https://www.lakemchenryscanner.com/2026/02/27/judge-releases-man-arrested-for-possessing-ammo-that-prompted-swat-response-shelter-in-place-order-in-lake-in-the-hills/) make it sound like it may be gang related.

 

“The search warrant was part of a joint investigation into illegal activity,” the Lake in the Hills Police Department said in a statement.

 

Prosecutors asked the judge to order Fernandez to have no contact with any Insane Deuces gang members, a request that Berg granted.

 

Fernandez does not have any prior criminal adult cases against him in McHenry County. (My emphasis).

[John Q Public]

These were CTA charges, they didn't find whatever it was they wanted, so the went with this detailed list of nothing, including a spent case. Yes a FOID violation, but it has already been litigated that a firearm in the home does not require a FOID, even though they found a way to limited it to one person, which is f-n ridiculous. 

 

How much of this box of nothing did it cost us for this boondoggle? Probably, one of those red flag, or DTS, or others reported by some snitch, or other who was in a bind looking for a way out.  Whatever it was I'm glad nobody got dead over it. 

 

~Sigh~

Edited March 5, 2026 at 07:26 PM by John Q Public

[mab22]

Scary to think that is WHY they fight tooth and nail to keep FOID around, makes it easier to keep citizens in line. 

[John Q Public]

On 3/5/2026 at 10:01 AM, RedWrangler said:

I was driving my wife's car the other day. In the cupholder were a screwdriver (mine) and eight random rounds - 9mm, .22 and .45 - (also mine).  Some had dimpled primers, some had pocket lint.... 

 

It's a good thing (especially around Christmas) that she has a FOID!

 

The way the FOID law is written, if she did not know the ammo/firearm was in the vehicle, the assumption is she/they did not know, and therefore is not unlawful. 

[Black Flag]

On 3/18/2026 at 10:47 AM, John Q Public said:

 

The way the FOID law is written, if she did not know the ammo/firearm was in the vehicle, the assumption is she/they did not know, and therefore is not unlawful. 

That assumption may not apply if they are the "wrong" color.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2026 at 01:09 AM by Black Flag
added a detail.

[John Q Public]

@BF or you live in Cook, the pretty much will want to take it and let the courts figure it out. Be that as it may, I was quoting the law. 

[mab22]

AAANNNDD we have another SWAT response to a 19 with rifle ammo... 

https://www.lakemchenryscanner.com/2026/04/23/swat-teams-conduct-search-warrant-at-mundelein-home-arrest-19-year-old-with-rifle-ammo/

Quote

SWAT teams conduct search warrant at Mundelein home, arrest 19-year-old with rifle ammo

SWAT teams carried out a search warrant at a Mundelein home Wednesday morning and arrested a 19-year-old who allegedly had rifle ammunition as part of an “ongoing criminal investigation.”

removed, 19, of Mundelein, was charged with one count of unlawful possession of ammunition without a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card, a Class A misdemeanor.

Why are they sending a SWAT TEAM, er "Police Rescue V HICLE" over some AMMO?

Seems a bit overkill. 

[Jeffrey]

If they don't use it, they lose it?  Better to be over prepared than under...Because someone with some loose rifle rounds could be dangerous...