A 12-year-old Joliet boy has been charged with a felony after neighbors reported seeing him throw a Molotov cocktail into the street in front of his home.
The boy's mother said her son has never been in trouble with the law but said the incident happened on Saturday when her son was hanging out in the backyard of their home, in the 500 block of Elmwood Avenue.
The group of friends broke into the locked garage behind the home, the mother said. Inside, she said they found a bottle, gasoline and a utility bill with the home's address on it but with the names of previous tenants.
The boy used the bill as the wick to the gas-filled jar, walked to the front of the house with a friend and threw the jar into the street, the mother said.
Someone called police, and when they arrived the mother said her son lied to them. She said her son and a friend told police that two other teens were walking down the street with the Molotov cocktail, but the police had witnesses who ID'd the woman's son.
The pre-teen has been charged with felony possession of an incendiary device. Other charges are possible, police said.
The boy is currently being held at the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center and has a court appearance scheduled for Thursday.
In August, a Molotov cocktail was thrown toward the deli department inside Joe Caputo & Sons Fruit Market in Algonquin.
