WCSO Press Releases

   The Will County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help from the public in locating Raymond Martin, a Crete Township man, who was last seen on Saturday, May 22^nd.  Martin left the care of his family on foot around 7:30pm from his home that is near the E. Exchange and S. Klemme Road area.  Martin suffers from dementia and requires medication.

Mr. Martin is described as a male/white, age 63, 5’11” in height, and about 155 lbs.  He has brown hair, brown eyes, and light skin complexion.  He has a tattoo on his left upper arm that reads: “Ray” and a religious cross tattoo on his left ring finger.   Martin was last seen wearing a red flannel long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes.  He has no cell phone, cash, or bank cards with him.

It is believed that Martin was observed hitchhiking on Exchange Road between Route 394 and just across the Indiana border.  Martin is known to frequent the Matteson and south side of Chicago areas.

If you see Raymond Martin or have any information about his whereabouts, please contact 911 or Laraway Communications Center at 815-727-8575.   You may also reach out to Will County Sheriff’s Detective DeMato at 815-727-8574 ext: 4912  (cdemato@willcosheriff.org).

   The Will County Sheriff’s Office, Investigation Unit, is announcing the arrest of Joseph T. Balding Jr., age 29, of 1018 Shagbark Road in New Lenox.  Sheriff’s detectives received a cyber-tip on March 1, 2021 from the Illinois Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC).   The tip was related to a New Lenox individual who was potentially sharing and uploading multiple images and videos of child pornography.

    Sheriff’s detectives began an investigation that led them to the identity of Joseph Balding.  Balding was brought in for questioning where he made several statements implicating himself.  A search warrant of his residence was conducted on March 18^th.  Several electronic devices were collected and forensically analyzed.  Upon completion of the investigation, an arrest warrant was secured and Balding was taken into custody by detectives.

    Balding was charged with six counts of possession of child pornography.  His bond was set at $100,000 (10% to apply). 

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   Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley is announcing the assignment of Troy Shoaf as the Sheriff’s Office new Chaplain.  Chaplain Troy has met with our command staff and is just starting his position where he will begin serving the religious needs of our employees and serve as the Sheriff’s Office religious liaison within the community.  

  Chaplain Troy Shoaf comes to the Sheriff’s Office with prior and current knowledge of the department as he has served on the Sheriff’s Auxiliary Unit as an Auxiliary Deputy for eight years.  He is also a member of Blue Line Ministries, is the Associate Pastor of the Independent Baptist Church in Bolingbrook, and is the police chaplain for the US Secret Service, Illinois State Police, and the Bolingbrook Police Department.  He is a qualified counselor and has completed his training through the International Conference of Police Chaplains. 

 Chaplain Troy is anxious to share his knowledge, encouragement, and compassion to our sworn officers and civilian staff with his vast understanding of the daily struggles law enforcement face.  

 The Sheriff’s Office is looking forward to working with him and would like to welcome Chaplain Troy to the Sheriff’s Office family.

Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley is pleased to announce the release of the Will County Sheriff’s Office mobile phone app.  The app is now available as a free download from your iPhone and Android app stores.

 The Sheriff’s Office app brings all citizens a more complete and informative way to find whatever your needs may be regarding the Sheriff’s Office and the Adult Detention Facility. The app gives availability to receive emergency alerts, notifications, press releases and several other resources to enhance public safety matters.

 One of the features that can be found on the Sheriff’s Office app include “Submit a Tip”, where users can easily submit crime tips directly to the Sheriff’s Office.  App users can remain anonymous.

 Some other features include “Active Warrants” and “Sex Offenders”.  In the “Active Warrants” section, you can simply search by name to see if you have an active warrant or someone you know has an active warrant.  The “Sex Offender” section has an interactive map and allows users to search and locate sex offenders whether they are living in your neighborhood or anywhere else in the United States.

 Users of the app will also have the ability to find a complete guide of information in the “Adult Detention Facility” section.   Simply click on the tabs that include ‘inmate search’, ‘victim notification’, ‘bail payments’, ‘commissary info’, ‘visitation info’, and more.  

 Other specific features include Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, traffic complaints, extra patrols, house watch requests, career opportunities, and links to share and read the Sheriffs Office’s social media posts.

 The Sheriff’s Office was also happy to team up with our app to include the Will County Courthouse and Circuit Clerks Office to fulfil citizens’ needs regarding these branches of government.  Features include orders of protection info, court information, court case lookup, and you can even make payments pertaining to traffic citations, criminal, civil, ordinance and child support cases.

 Sheriff Mike Kelley stated, “As Sheriff of Will County, my commitment to all residents is finding ways to communicate effectively with our citizens and to improve public safety.  Not only does this app check both of those boxes, it also provides a one-stop-shop for all things related to the Sheriff’s Office”.

 The Will County Sheriff’s Office app was developed by TheSheriffApp.com, a division of OCV, LLC.

GET THE APP TODAY!  Search Will County Sheriff’s Office IL to download the app onto your smartphone or tablet.  It is available FREE of charge from the iOS and Google Play app stores.

Or click this link to get started:  https://apps.myocv.com/share/a52660433

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Sheriff Mike Kelley would like to announce a partnership with the Minneapolis, Minnesota based company Verde Environmental Technologies, Inc., the creator of the Deterra Drug Deactivation and Disposal System.  As part of the Will County Sheriff’s Office drug prevention initiatives to help combat the opioid epidemic, the Will County Sheriff’s Office will be providing residents of Will County, pouches of the Deterra Drug Deactivation and Disposal System.  These pouches will be made available on request, and be available at numerous Will County Sheriff’s Office sponsored functions.   

These pouches will complement the already existing programs and partnerships that the Will County Sheriff’s Office utilizes such as the DEA Drug Take Back Day, Will County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition sponsored events, and the Will County Sheriff’s Office Prescription Drop Box.  The prescription drop box is located inside of the Will County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Complex, at 16911 W. Laraway Road in Joliet, Illinois. 

“Not everyone can come into the Will County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Complex to drop off their unwanted prescription medications between 8:00 AM-4:00 PM, into the drug collection box located in the first floor lobby.  The Will County Sheriff’s Office wants to give residents other options to dispose of these unwanted medications properly”, said Sheriff Kelley.     

The environmentally friendly, Deterra pouches will allow individuals to safely and permanently, deactivated prescription medication from the comfort of their home.  Deterra is the only independently tested and scientifically proven drug disposal system that permanently deactivates all organic medications, including opioids in all forms.  These forms of medications include pills, patches, liquids, creams, and films. 

Each Deterra pouch will deactivate up to 45 pills or 6 ounces of liquid medication, or up to 6 prescription patches and it is easy to do.  Simply, tear open the pouch, and placed the unused or unwanted medications inside of the bag.  Next, fill the pouch halfway with warm water and wait for about 30 seconds.  Finally, seal the pouch tightly, gently shake the pouch, and dispose the bag in your normal trash can.

If you would like to receive Deterra pouches for use, please send an e-mail to deterra@willcosheriff.org to request pouches.  If you would like more information on the Deterra Drug Deactivation System, please visit their website at https://deterrasystem.com.  

This morning, the Will County Sheriff’s Office took Ian Knutsen into custody at his home without incident.  Knutsen is 19 years of age and resides at 323 Poplar Lane in New Lenox.  The Sheriff’s office served a warrant that was issued yesterday for two counts of child pornography.  Knutsen is being held at the Adult Detention Facility on a $50,000 bond (10% to apply).

The child pornography charges stem from an investigation that began early last year after detectives received a cyber-tip from the Attorney General’s Office, Internet Crimes against Children Taskforce.  The tip generated several images of child pornography that were downloaded and shared via social media platforms.

Over the course of the investigation, Knutsen was identified as the offender.  Detectives brought him in for an interview in January 2021.   Knutsen was cooperative and made several statements implicating himself in the illegal activity.  He also provided detectives with his laptop, gaming system, and cell phone.   Subpoenas and search warrants for those electronics were secured, forensically examined and further evidence was established.

Knutsen will appear for his arraignment in video court tomorrow morning at the Will County Courthouse. 

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