JOLIET — For the second day in a row, Kelly Decman, 45, of Shorewood, has been arrested in Will County. This week, prosecutors filed a motion to deny Decman’s pretrial release after Joliet police found her slumped behind the wheel of a car at a gas station, court records show.
Decman is charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to resell and three counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance following her arrest by Joliet police.
According to prosecutors, Joliet police were called to the Lenny’s Food and Fuel gas station on the corner of Houbolt Road and Route 6 around 3:40 a.m. Monday because a person was slumped behind the wheel of a car.
The caller knocked on the window of Decman’s Toyota Camry, but the Shorewood woman did not answer, prosecutors said. Decman’s Camry was parked in front of the Food and Fuel building and was the only person in the vehicle.
Prosecutors said the Joliet Fire Department got to the gas station first, and when Joliet police arrived, Decman was already standing outside her vehicle, looking around and holding one hand behind her back. Decman told Joliet police she had parked there for a few hours and never made it into the gas station, court documents say.
According to court documents, Decman also told Joliet police that she did not know what city she was in.
Prosecutors said officers saw a Crown Royal bag on the floor of Decman’s limousine, and when Joliet police Officer Bill Otis and Officer Nowak approached Decman, she refused to show them her hands.
She refused to cooperate and pressed one of the officer’s body-worn cameras, court documents show. At the Food and Fuel, Joliet police found cocaine and a glass pipe in Decman’s clothing and in her car, which belongs to Decman’s mother, court records show.
In addition, Joliet police found two large plastic bags containing 21.46 grams of cocaine. They also seized a green plastic bag containing 10.6 grams of magic mushrooms and an orange, unlabeled pill bottle containing a rolled-up dollar bill that tested positive for fentanyl.
Will County prosecutors argued that Decman should be detained indefinitely under the SAFE-T Act because she already has a drug trafficking charge pending against her in 2023. At the time of Monday’s arrest, Decman had been released from prison on charges of eight felony counts, and three of the eight charges are identical to her latest charges.
“We humbly suggest that this demonstrates that the defendant is unable to comply with any conditions this court could order,” prosecutors argued in their petition. “And it is difficult to see how electronic monitoring would have prevented the conduct we allege occurred on August 12, 2024. Finally, we allege that the defendant poses a real and present threat to her own safety.”
After reviewing the evidence, Will County Judge Donald DeWilkins ruled against the Will County District Attorney’s Office.
Instead, he gave the woman from Shorewood her freedom.
“The state has failed to prove that no condition exists or that no condition exists,” the judge wrote.
Decman was released from the Will County Jail at 4:57 p.m. Tuesday. She lives in the 100 block of Summer Street, just off Jefferson Street, near the DuPage River. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27 in Courtroom 405.
Last year’s Joliet Patch story about Decman carried the headline: “Shorewood cocaine dealer falls asleep at Joliet gas station: JPD
