Three men, including two brothers, entered not guilty pleas at a Thursday hearing in connection with a Halloween shooting that left two people dead at a Joliet Township party.
Joskar Ramos, 18, and Thomas Lopez, 21, both of Joliet, and Jeremy Lopez, 19, of Lockport, appeared via video before Will County Judge Dave Carlson.
Relatives of Jeremy and Thomas Lopez were in the courtroom but declined to comment.
Defense attorney Robert Pervan, who has represented Thomas Lopez in other cases, said he was made aware of the arrest Wednesday evening and that he had not had time to review the charges against Lopez.
“Obviously, we’re going to defend this case vigorously,” Pervan said.
The three, who are being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility on $10 million bonds, were due back in court Jan. 20.
The Lopez brothers were arrested Tuesday. Ramos, who was charged this week, has been in police custody since Nov. 5 on weapons charges.
All three men were charged with six counts of first-degree murder, five counts of aggravated battery with a firearm as well as attempted first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to a news release from the Will County sheriff’s office.
The men are accused of shooting into a crowd at a Halloween party. Two people, Holly Matthews and Jonathan Ceballos, were killed. Though police have described the shooting as gang-related, authorities have said neither Matthews nor Ceballos were the targets.
“The two who were killed were good people who were at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Will County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Dan Jungles, adding that neither Matthews or Ceballos were involved in gangs.
The scene of a shooting that left two people dead and at least a dozen more people injured in the 1000 block of East Jackson Street in Joliet Township on Oct. 31, 2021. (Jon Langham/for Chicago Tribune)
A party in the 1000 block of East Jackson Street in Joliet Township, originally intended for a group of 50 family members, grew to more than 200 people due to social media posts about the party, according to police.
Witnesses reported seeing people standing on a balcony overlooking the backyard and shooting into the crowd about 12:40 a.m. Oct. 31. The gunfire sent partygoers scrambling for cover and trying to escape. Many left behind keys, cellphones and other personal belonging as they fled.
In addition to the two people killed, several were sent to area hospitals with injuries.
The investigation of the shooting involved interviews with numerous partygoers and potential witnesses.
Will County sheriff’s investigators worked with U.S. Marshals and the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force to locate the Lopez brothers. Both men were found Tuesday at their residences, according to the news release.
According to law enforcement officials, deputies were able to “secure items of evidentiary value” during the arrests. The news release also stated that investigators were able to secure information, through questioning, to charge the three men with murder.
“This was a true team effort by everyone at the Will County sheriff’s office that helped play a part in this investigation,” Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley said in the news release.
Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter.
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