Man who wore bulletproof vest outside Riverside school pleads guilty to disorderly conduct

(RIVERSIDE) A man who was arrested last month for entering school property in west suburban Riverside while wearing a bulletproof vest and who claimed to have come from California looking for mysterious lights has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

Jeffrey Waiman Wo, 41, was charged with one count of disorderly conduct after he was seen “lurking around St. Mary’s School playground” at 97 Herrick Rd. about 12:41 p.m. on Nov. 4, according to a statement from Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel.

Wo waived his right to a jury trial and pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 4, police said.

Wo was trying to get a “tour of the facility” and told police he was working for the FBI, but when officers saw he was wearing a bulletproof vest, he was taken into custody, according to police.

He allegedly told police he had traveled from San Francisco to Illinois to investigate “hidden lights inside of old buildings” which were “controlled by the government.” He said he chose Illinois because it is the home of President Obama.

He said he had flown from San Francisco to Midway, then “rode a train to Riverside, walked to Lyons and had been renting a room” there, Weitzel said. He also said he had been “in other churches or preschools in the area,” but no further police reports were found.

Asked why he was wearing a bulletproof vest, Wo told police “the FBI was trying to kill him as he was a one-time an employee of the FBI and they were no longer supporting his actions,” Weitzel said in the statement.

Police contacted the FBI, who confirmed Wo had never worked for the agency.

When he was taken into custody, $24,000 in cash was found in his left pocket. However, he was unarmed.

Judge Kristyna Ryan sentenced Wo to 12 months of supervision and fined him $289, police said.