On August 12, 2016, at approximately 9:03 p.m., Elgin police assisted members of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) -Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the execution of a search warrant at a storage unit located at 665 Big Timber Road in Elgin. The search warrant was executed as a result of information received by HSI and part of an ongoing investigation.
Upon execution of the search warrant a large cache of weapons which included full automatic firearms and hand grenades were located inside the storage unit. The Kane County Sherriff's Bomb Squad was summoned to the scene to secure the grenades. Members of the Elgin Police Department's Special Investigations Division and Federal agents conducted further investigation and identified the renter of the storage unit as 31-year-old Juan Mexicano of Addison, Illinois.
Mr. Mexicano was taken into custody without incident and the Kane County States Attorney's Office was contacted. After a review of the facts of the case the following charges were authorized against Mr. Mexicano: five counts of Possession of Weapons-Machine Guns -A Class 2 Felony. Mr. Mexicano appeared in Kane County Bond call this morning where his bond was set at $1,000,000 (10 % to apply).
Significant assistance was provided by the following HSI task force partners: Addison Police Department, Chicago Police Department, Hoffman Estates Police Department, New Lenox Police Department, Olympia Fields Police Department, Streamwood Police Department, Lombard Police Department, Kane County Sheriff's Office, DuPage County Sheriff's Office, Will County Sheriff's Office, ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.
Lieutenant Adam Schuessler of the Elgin Police Department's Special Investigations Division stated, "The investigative effort and teamwork displayed in this case is another example of the great partnerships we strive to build with our local and federal agencies. The amount of work invested by all involved culminated in extremely dangerous weapons being seized and prevented their possible use in our communities."
