Ex-Joliet Amazon employee charged with carrying ghost gun in assault case

A grand jury has indicted a former employee of an Amazon facility in Joliet on charges alleging that he held a ghost gun when he threatened another employee.

On Thursday, Demonte Echols, 19, of Dolton was indicted on a charge of aggravated unlawful use of a ghost gun Nov. 8 at an Amazon facility at 250 Emerald Drive, Joliet. A ghost gun is a privately made firearm with no serial number.

Echols also was charged with aggravated assault of a fellow employee. After Echols’ arrest, he is no longer employed by the company, Amazon spokeswoman Alisa Carroll said.

On Nov. 8, a security officer at Amazon found Echols was in possession of the gun after confronting him over a report of an altercation between Echols and another employee, according to a court filing from Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Steve Platek.

The employee was with a second employee when Echols asked the former “who he was looking at” before pulling a handgun out of his bag, Platek said.

Echols told the first employee, “I’ll do your [expletive] right here,” Platek said.

Echols denied to the security officer that the gun was his but later admitted that he had the gun for protection, Platek said.

Echols then said the two employees were looking at him when he opened his bag.

The indictment filed Thursday alleged that Echols knowingly carried a loaded ghost handgun without a valid firearm owner’s identification card. Echols was further accused of pulling out the handgun without lawful authority and causing the employee to reasonably fear that they would be physical harmed.

Echols was taken to the Will County jail Nov. 8 after his arrest by Joliet police. He was released Nov. 10 after a judge denied a petition from prosecutors to keep him locked up.

Echols is scheduled for arraignment Dec. 1.