Man pleads guilty in Antioch Township weapons case

One of two Antioch Township men charged with hoarding guns, explosives and drugs in their house pleaded guilty to a reduced charge Wednesday in Lake County Circuit Court.

John Thomas, 24, was placed on probation for two years after pleading guilty to unlawful storage of explosives during a hearing before Circuit Judge Fred Foreman.

Assistant State's Attorney Scott Hoffert said Thomas and his father, Burl Thomas, were both at their residence in the 25000 block of West Linden Lane when police arrived with a search warrant Sept. 2.

Inside the house, police found more than 30 weapons, including a live military AT4 rocket launcher, semiautomatic rifles, handguns and shotguns.

They also found a half-pound of dynamite, blasting caps and detonator cord.

Two ounces of cocaine, about a pound of marijuana and 500 pills of prescription drugs were also seized during the raid.

Both were charged with armed violence, possession of explosives, cocaine and marijuana and unlawful use of a weapon, but Hoffert agreed to drop those charges against John Thomas in exchange for his guilty plea.

Burl Thomas was found psychologically unfit for trial in December and is undergoing treatment at a state Department of Human Services hospital.

A report on the progress of that treatment is scheduled to be presented to Foreman on March 23.

Before John Thomas' guilty plea was accepted, Hoffert had him sworn in and he testified that all the contraband in the house belonged to his father.

Burl Thomas has pleaded not guilty to the original charges and faces a prison sentence of 15 to 30 years if convicted when he is released from treatment.

The maximum penalty John Thomas could have faced for the unlawful storage of explosive charge is five years in prison.