City man arrested in raid on home
Photo 
Leon Clemons
JANESVILLE — A SWAT team was part of a large contingent of officers who surrounded and entered a house early this morning at 1116 W. Wall St.
No one was injured, police reported. Leon Clemons, 56, of 1116 W. Wall St., was arrested on charges of felon in possession of a firearm and possession of cocaine.
Clemons admitted to officers that the handgun was his, and a small amount of crack cocaine was found, Deputy Police Chief David Moore said.
The incident began around 11 p.m. Thursday, when police were called to the 1100 block of West Wall Street for a disturbance, Moore said. Witnesses told police that two men had argued, and one displayed a small handgun.
The man with the handgun had left the scene by the time police arrived.
After searching the area, police returned to ask more questions, Moore said, and they overheard people arguing inside a house about one of them having a weapon.
Police asked to enter but were told no, Moore said. So police held positions, called the SWAT team and got a search warrant, Moore said.
Entry at about 2:30 a.m. included use of a flash-bang grenade. Moore didn’t know if the door was kicked in. About 12 people were inside the house.
Clemons is not believed to be the person who had the handgun in the earlier incident, according to a press release.
Clemons was in the Rock County Jail this morning and was expected to make a court appearance this afternoon.
Aug 16, 2008 at 10:58 a.m.
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right on trimmo. im bustin a gut right now. bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aug 16, 2008 at 10:13 a.m.
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maybe they can come over and clean up EAST wall st next!!!!
Aug 15, 2008 at 9:51 p.m.
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Everyone for a good laugh, the comment below me will keep you going for YEARS!
Aug 15, 2008 at 9:15 p.m.
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Glad they weren't my neighbors. I love reading news like this, it makes me feel a bit more confident that our community is being cleaned up little by little. Thank you JPD.
Aug 15, 2008 at 4:25 p.m.
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It is fortunate this didn't escalate further, but it doesn't seem like they got the guy who was making threats with a gun, either.
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As a Look West/Fourth Ward resident, my primary concern is that this was apparently a residence that was attracting, as was said below, "midnight bible study". Even after the police were on scene asking questions you had a dozen people in the house. These types of conditions really speak for themselves and are not something that just happen by accident. This was probably an ongoing problem at the address and hopefully this raid will bring this to a stop, and much closer attention to the property by the landlord, given our nuisance ordinance.
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Bottom line: we do want to get the bad guys, but getting rid of the party houses stops attracting the bad guys to where you are.
Aug 15, 2008 at 2:08 p.m.
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I am glad nobody got hurt...
Nice work, Janesville Police Department...
Aug 15, 2008 at 1:46 p.m.
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Devilsadvocate...Police Departments have what they call SOP's (Standard Operating Procedures)
when a threat meets certain criteria they act appropriately per their SOP. When weapons are involved in a residential neighborhood or any place for that matter, I really don't think overtime or cost really should be debated. The safety of the community and the police officers should be first priority. Get real
Aug 15, 2008 at 1:34 p.m.
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I guess the criticizers missed the parts of the story where "Witnesses told police that two men had argued, and one displayed a small handgun." and "After searching the area, police returned to ask more questions, Moore said, and they overheard people arguing inside a house about one of them having a weapon."
That was two heated discussions. One where a gun was pulled and the other about the gun being there to begin with. I think the response was very appropriate.
Aug 15, 2008 at 12:53 p.m.
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Calling out the SWAT team is an expensive proposition, everyone on overtime etc. It should be reserved for truly dangerous situations. The facts of this situation don't seem to justify the response. 70% of Janesville homes probably contain firearms of some variety. There is a tendency to "over use" SWAT teams, simply because we have them and it's seen as "good practice" for the team.
Aug 15, 2008 at 12:09 p.m.
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the new face of janesville..........times they are a'changin!
Aug 15, 2008 at 12:01 p.m.
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What about the other 11? I suppose that they were there for Midnight Bible Study...
Aug 15, 2008 at 11:42 a.m.
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hey twirp.. they overheard a conversation about a gun. JPD didnt know what was going to happen if they just entered. always be safe than dead.
Aug 15, 2008 at 11:01 a.m.
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"use of a flash-bang grenade"....are you kidding me? Just because the guy said "no you cant come in"? Wow...the JPD is amazing.. Im surprised I didnt hear choppers flying in or an air strike...lol. Anyway... glad they are on top of this stuff. Glad they treat the drug dealers the same way as they do people socializing in a parking lot on Milton ave. :)
Aug 15, 2008 at 10:56 a.m.
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Haha
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