Man who kept 67 weapons in home sentenced to jail
BY BILL BIRD wbird@stmedianetwork.com December 15, 2012 1:44AM
Joseph M. Schwab
Updated: January 17, 2013 6:45AM
A man who was arrested late last winter after Naperville police found three pipe bombs, 21 firearms and 43 other weapons inside his house has been sentenced to jail in that case.
Joseph M. Schwab, 34, pleaded guilty in DuPage County Circuit Court to a felony charge of possession of explosives or explosive or incendiary devices, according to court records. Two identical counts and a charge of attempted domestic battery were dismissed in exchange for his plea, records indicated.
Judge Blanche Hill Fawell on Thursday sentenced Schwab to 34 days in DuPage County Jail, records showed. Fawell gave Schwab credit toward his sentence for an unspecified number of days he spent in jail after being arrested, and also placed him on three years of probation, according to records.
Schwab was not in jail as of Friday night.
Members of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad assisted Naperville police during Schwab’s arrest. It occurred about 8:05 p.m. March 18 following a domestic quarrel inside Schwab’s home at 880 S. Plainfield-Naperville Road, in the Hobson West area of central Naperville.
A police spokesman in March said a member of the family called 911 after being shoved by Schwab. The spokesman said Schwab was in the process of loading some of his arsenal into his vehicle as police arrived at the scene.
The pipe bombs were discovered during a police search of the house. All of the occupants were evacuated while police contacted the bomb squad, the spokesman said.
Bomb squad members got all of the explosives out of the house and detonated them in an adjacent field, the spokesman said. Police then confiscated 21 firearms and an assortment of 43 “edged weapons,” including knives, swords and martial arts throwing stars.
Schwab had allegedly planned to use one of the bombs to commit arson. Court records indicated he applied for admission into the DuPage County Mental Illness Court Alternative Program following his arrest, but had his application rejected late last month.
