Police arrest pair of men for firing shots at another vehicle

Two men were arrested Aug. 21 after allegedly firing shots at another vehicle in Joliet. At 10:18 p.m. police were called to the 2400 block of West Jefferson Street where the occupants of a black SUV had shot at another vehicle on the street. No injuries were reported. Officers put out a description of the SUV, which was spotted a short time later exiting Interstate 80 onto Chicago Street, according to police reports.

"Officers initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and it refused to pull over. One of the occupants threw a firearm out of the vehicle near Chicago Street and Patterson Road during the pursuit," police said.

The vehicle did eventually stop near Patterson Road and Joliet Street where Mitchell M. Thompson, 25, and Shaquan M. Meadows, 26, were taken into custody.

"A loaded firearm was recovered from the side of the road," police said.

Thompson, of the 1600 block of Fifth Avenue, was arrested on charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, obstructing justice and fleeing from police. Meadows, of the 200 block of Herkimer Street, was arrested on charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated discharge of a firearm and obstructing justice.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, Thompson has been on parole for nearly two years for an armed robbery conviction.

In March 2013, Thompson and three other men crashed a party in the 100 block of South Park Road and spent some time socializing before taking out handguns and taking money, wallets and cell phones from the guests.