Crime & Safety

Police: Man Charged With Child Endangerment in Palos Hills Used Heroin in Stolen Car

Police say Justin F. Benoit, 30, stole a car from a New Lenox home after he was released from Silver Cross Hospital and drove it to Chicago to use heroin.

A Tinley Park man, who was charged with child endangerment in Palos Hills last year, was booked into Will County jail Sunday after he stole a car in New Lenox and drove it to Chicago to use heroin, police said.   

Justin F. Benoit, 30, of the 8800 block of 176th Street in Tinley Park, was charged in Will County with residential burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Deputy Chief Bob Pawlisz of the New Lenox Police Department said Benoit was also charged with heroin possession in Cook County.

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Pawlisz said Benoit was released from Silver Cross Hospital, where he stayed for an unspecified chemical dependency treatment. Benoit left on foot and went to a home in the 1100 block of West Route 6, which is near the hospital.

New Lenox police were called to a home at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22, in response to a stolen car. 

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The car was tracked using an OnStar system, and the Chicago Police Department found Benoit in the car near 72nd Street and Western Avenue in the city, according to police reports.

New Lenox police took Benoit into custody and discovered he also took a camera, computers and other miscellaneous items. 

Benoit was booked into the Will County Jail and awaits a hearing. 

In March 2011, after Palos Hills Police responded to a call from a 6-year-old boy who said he was hungry. When police got to the home, they found four unconscious adults, one of whom was Benoit. Another adult was pronounced dead. 

According to some reports that were unverified at the time, the adults might have been suffering from heroin overdoses

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