More weapons seized from man arrested by Swansea Police with car full of guns and ammo

Two additional assault rifles were seized from the apartment of a man who, last week, was pulled over in Swansea with a car full of loaded weapons, according to police.

Joel M. DeJesus-Diaz, 44, has been held in the St. Clair County Jail since being charged on March 17 with five felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon with body armor and one felony count of unlawful use of a firearm projectile.

His arrest followed a traffic stop conducted by Swansea Officer Matt Lindley. Lindley found five loaded guns, one unloaded gun, “multiple loaded high-capacity magazines, loose ammunition and a small amount of cannabis,” according to a release.

Following evidence on DeJesus-Diaz’s social media accounts that he possessed other weapons, police executed a search warrant on his apartment at 1481 Cantwell Lane, Swansea, and recovered two additional rifles, said Swansea Police Chief Matt Blomberg.

Blomberg identified the weapons as a Palmetto rifle and a Kriss Vector rifle, both of which are described as illegal “assault rifles” in Illinois law.

DeJesus-Diaz does not possess a Firearms Owner Identification – or FOID – card, which is mandatory in Illinois for anyone possessing a weapon or ammunition.

According to court records, he has waived his right to a pretrial detention hearing, entered a plea of not guilty and is appealing the appointment of a public defender.

In the meantime, Blomberg said the investigation is ongoing and will include forensic study of DeJesus-Diaz’s cellphone and computer.

“It’s a very interesting case, by all means, but I’m not about to speculate on what his intentions were,” Blomberg said. “Social media has been doing enough of that.

“It could have been all very innocent. It’s not even illegal (to carry guns) in some states. But we have to do due diligence and his problem is that, in Illinois, he can’t possess those guns and he has another problem with transporting them.”

According to the criminal charges, items seized from DeJesus-Diaz’s vehicle on March 16 included:

• Sig Sauer P320 semi-automatic pistol
• Sig Sauer P365 subcompact semi-automatic pistol
• Forested Camo Palmetto State Armory PS AK47 assault rifle
• Glock 17 9mm semi-automatic pistol
• KelTec P50 semi-automatic short rifle/pistol
• Arms ABC15 “auto capable” short rifle/pistol
• Dragon’s Breath “incendiary-effect round” shotgun shells

In addition to the “multiple loaded firearms,” DeJesus-Diaz also was carrying tactical gear including body armor, a ballistic facemask and “several rounds/magazines” of ammunition, according to the St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office pretrial detention hearing request.

Court records do not show any additional charges related to the rifles recovered from his department.

This story was originally published March 26, 2024 at 6:00 AM.