Carbondale Alerts
Carbondale Police Press Release - Retail Theft and Unlawful Use of a Weapon
NEWS RELEASE
City of Carbondale, Illinois
July 29, 2025
For Immediate Release
CARBONDALE – On July 25, 2025, at 11:44 a.m., City of Carbondale Police Officers responded to a report of a retail theft at a business in the 1400 block of East Main Street. Officers learned that an adult and two juvenile, age 16 and 17, fled the business with merchandise without offering payment. Officers located the suspects and arrested them for retail theft. During the investigation, officers learned the adult, identified as Javier J. Upshaw, 18 of Carbondale, possessed a firearm during the offense. Upshaw gave the firearm to one of the juveniles, who attempted to hide it as they were fleeing. Officers arrested the juvenile for Unlawful Use of a Weapon in addition to Retail Theft. Officers recovered the firearm. Upshaw was incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail pending a detention hearing. The juveniles were released to their parents pending appearances in court. In accordance with the Illinois Juvenile Justice Act, the identities of the juvenile suspects will not be released. No one was injured as a result of the incident. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the police department at the numbers listed below. The investigation remains active and ongoing.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the City of Carbondale Police Department at (618) 549-2121. You may also call the Carbondale/SIU Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (618) 549-COPS (2677) or the Murphysboro/Jackson County anonymous tip line at (618) 687-COPS (2677). Anonymous tips may also be made by selecting the “Crime Stoppers” tab on this website’s main page. Please help yourself and your county, its communities, and the university campus by using these numbers if you witness or have any information about a crime. Cash rewards for information that leads to an arrest are also made anonymously. Remember, crime doesn’t pay, but Crime Stoppers does!
The mission of the Carbondale Police Department is to work in partnership with our community to preserve life, protect human rights, protect property and improve quality of life by providing police service to all in a fair, sensitive, and professional manner.