Merrillville Man Arrested In Illinois For Stalking
On December 9, 2024, at approximately 11:05 AM, Shorewood Police Officers responded to the parking lot of 950 Brookforest Avenue (Route 59) to answer a report of a man making unwanted and disturbing comments to a female juvenile and her mother as they attempted to enter a business, according to Shorewood Police. The man, later identified by Shorewood Police Officers as 49-year-old Jeffery J. Hergert, formally of Merrillville, Indiana but currently claiming to be homeless.
Hergert reportedly made inappropriate comments on the appearance of the juvenile and offered her a potential job (despite currently being unemployed). After being told approximately four times by the juvenile’s mother that his advances were unwanted, Hergert left the area in his vehicle.
Shorewood Officers located Hergert in his vehicle on Route 59 approximately one half mile from the original scene. After acknowledging the conversations with the pair of females in the Brookforest Avenue parking lot, Hergert was placed under arrest.
Officers learned that Hergert had recent contact with law enforcement in northwest Indiana where his behavior rose to the level that authorities were contacted, but no criminal charges filed. It was also learned that Hergert has previous arrests in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Texas, Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada for similar type incidents involving unsolicited and inappropriate contact with minors, including several stalking charges. Officers also learned that Hergert has an active arrest warrant in Clearwater County, Idaho, for Eluding an Officer and also violating conditions of his release relative to a charge of Enticing Children.
For his actions in Shorewood, Hergert was charged with Felony Stalking and was transported to the Will County Adult Detention Facility pending his pre-trial release hearing in compliance with the Illinois SAFE-T Act.
