2 Grundy County Police Cars Crashed by Braidwood Criminal in Stolen Vehicle: Prosecutors

Gabriel Alvarez Faces Indefinite Detention After Alleged Stolen Vehicle Incident

Gabriel Alvarez, a 23-year-old resident of Braidwood, Illinois, has been placed in indefinite detention under the Illinois SAFE-T-Act following his arrest last week. The charges against him include possessing a stolen vehicle, theft, two counts of criminal damage to government property, and resisting a peace officer.

Will County Judge Antoinette Granholm ordered Alvarez to remain in the Will County Jail, as requested by the Will County State's Attorney's Office. This is not the first time Alvarez has been incarcerated in the county; this marks his fourth visit to the Will County Jail since 2021.

According to the prosecution, a woman from Braidwood reported that her Nissan Sentra was stolen from her driveway on West Anndon Street on July 23. The car was found missing the next day, with no surveillance footage capturing the theft. However, Braidwood police were able to track the vehicle’s license plates and discovered that it had traveled to the Braidwood Gas-N-Wash at 2:58 a.m.

Police obtained photos of Alvarez from the gas station and, by the afternoon of July 24, the stolen car was heading south from Joliet along I-55. Grundy County sheriff's deputies attempted to stop Alvarez, but he managed to box in Deputy Black and Deputy Lieberman. According to prosecutors, Alvarez struck both vehicles with the Sentra while trying to evade the deputies, causing damage exceeding $500 to each of the three vehicles.

After the incident, Alvarez abandoned the stolen car and fled into the woods. Court records indicate that police used a drone to track his movements, discovering that he crossed over I-55 by running to the east side of the interstate. Eventually, officers detained Alvarez’s father after he was seen honking his horn and searching for his son.

Before being captured near a frontage road on the east side of I-55, both Alvarez’s father and girlfriend urged him to stop running. Despite this, Alvarez was taken into custody. However, during the chase, Grundy County Deputy Black sustained an injury to his leg.

Prosecutors reminded the court that Alvarez was previously out on parole for possessing a weapon as a convicted felon. In August 2024, he received a three-year sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections. In 2022, he was convicted of possessing a weapon without a FOID card. Additionally, he failed to appear for two of his 2021 court hearings.

Alvarez also violated and escaped from electronic monitoring related to his 2022 Will County charges. He missed two court appearances in 2021 for an aggravated unlawful use of a weapon crime, which resulted in a two-year sentence at the DOC.

"The defendant's pretrial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons in the community and the defendant poses a serious risk not to appear in court as required," prosecutors stated during the hearing.

This case highlights a pattern of repeated legal violations and risks associated with Alvarez's behavior. The court’s decision to detain him indefinitely underscores the severity of the charges and the potential danger he may pose to the public if released.