Man Wearing Bulletproof Vest Arrested Outside Illinois School

A man wearing a bulletproof vest and claiming to have come for California looking for mysterious lights was arrested outside a school Tuesday afternoon in west suburban Riverside.

Jeffrey Waiman Wo, 41, was charged with one count of disorderly conduct after he was seen “lurking around St. Mary’s School playground” at 97 Herrick Rd. about 12:41 p.m. Tuesday, according to a statement from Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel.

Wo was trying to get a “tour of the facility” and told police he was working for the FBI, but when officers saw he was wearing a bulletproof vest, he was taken into custody, according to police.

He allegedly told police he had traveled from San Francisco to Illinois to investigate “hidden lights inside of old buildings” which were “controlled by the government.” He said he chose Illinois because it is the home of President Obama.

He said he had flown from San Francisco to Midway, then “rode a train to Riverside, walked to Lyons and had been renting a room” there, Weitzel said. He also said he had been “in other churches or preschools in the area,” but no further police reports were found.

Asked why he was wearing a bulletproof vest, Wo told police “the FBI was trying to kill him as he was a one-time an employee of the FBI and they were no longer supporting his actions,” Weitzel said in the statement.

Police contacted the FBI, who confirmed Wo had never worked for the agency.

When he was taken into custody, $24,000 in cash was found in his left pocket. However, he was unarmed.

Wo was charged with disorderly conduct, posted bond, and was taken to MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn for medical evaluation, police said. He has no prior criminal background.