10 Joliet Murder Defendants: Here's How Their Cases Ended

JOLIET, IL — After spending more than three-and-a-half years in the Will County Jail, Joliet resident Andy Cerros is now at the Stateville Correctional Center, convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for the June 3, 2017, flare gun deaths that killed two Joliet women and a baby.

At the time of the deadly house fire, Cerros was a 17-year-old Joliet street gang member. He fired his flare gun into the second-story window of the house on North Center Street, targeting a rival Joliet street gang member, who escaped the blaze without being injured.

Last year, Cerros reached a plea agreement with the Will County State's Attorney's Office. He was given a 32-year prison sentence from Will County Judge Vince Cornelius. Cerros, who has been in custody since his Joliet police arrest on July 13, 2017, has a projected Illinois Department of Corrections parole date of July 13, 2049, which is just shy of his 50th birthday.

Joliet Patch is continuing its examination of the Will County criminal court system, and this latest installment looks at Joliet's first-degree murder defendants whose cases got resolved during the past year or so.

In addition to Cerros, here's a rundown of other Joliet area first-degree murder defendants whose cases are no longer scheduled for trial at the Will County Courthouse:

2. Chris Perez, Joliet, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

After spending three-and-half-years living inside the Will County Jail, Chris Perez was sent to the Illinois Department of Corrections last summer. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Chris Perez fatally shot his 36-year-old brother Ricardo Perez inside their mother's house in the 1400 block of Sterling Avenue in Joliet Township on Dec. 3, 2017.

"Victim was in an argument with his mom when the defendant, his brother, stepped in to stick up for his mom," Will County prosecutors informed the judge. "The victim continued to yell and become angry with both of them. Defendant then produced a handgun and shot the victim while under a sudden and intense passion."

Chris Perez got credit for time already served, which was 1,300 days in Will County's detention.

Where is Perez now? ILLINOIS RIVER CORRECTIONAL CENTER

What's his parole date? 12/1/2023

3. Daniel Briceno, Joliet, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

During the early morning hours of Dec. 23, 2018, Briceno fatally shot 19-year-old Jermaine Peete in the head on Joliet's east side. Last May, Briceno pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of second-degree murder. He was then sentenced to 13 years at the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Briceno's attorney, Chuck Bretz, has said the 13-year prison sentence was fair. Bretz said he was pleased that the Will County State's Attorney's Office agreed to dismiss several first-degree murder charges against Briceno as part of the plea agreement.

Where is Briceno now? BIG MUDDY CORRECTIONAL CENTER

What's his parole date? 07/11/2025

4. Jeremiah Gavin, Joliet, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

Last July, Assistant Will County State's Attorney Deborah Mills worked out a plea bargain with Jeremiah Gavin, who was represented by Joliet criminal defense attorney Steven Haney.

Gavin received a 10-year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to the felony crime of unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. Gavin's pending charges, including first-degree murder, were dropped as part of his plea.

Gavin got credit for the 515 days he already served at the Will County Jail. Some lawyers at the Will County Courthouse referred to the deadly shootout as the "Joliet Joust" case.

Two cars traveling toward each other opened fire around noon on Feb. 7, 2020, along Joliet's Republic Avenue. The homicide victim, 17-year-old Joliet passenger Jeremiah Frazier, was shot in the head and died of his injuries two days later.

Where is Gavin now? SHERIDAN CORRECTIONAL CENTER

What's his parole date? 12/13/2024

5. Martell Ollie, Joliet, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

After spending the past two-and-a-half years in the Will County Jail, Joliet resident Martell Ollie pleaded guilty in November 2020 to a reduced charge of second-degree murder. Under his plea bargain, Ollie received a 13-year prison sentence for killing 24-year-old Romeoville resident Donald Woods Jr. during the late afternoon of May 15, 2018.

Woods died in the 200 block of Joliet's Fourth Avenue near Sherman Street. Ollie got good time credit for the 907 days he already spent in the Will County Jail awaiting trial. Ollie's attorney Chuck Bretz said his client always insisted he killed Donald Woods Jr. out of self-defense.

"It was very clear that the decedent also had a gun on him and fired that weapon at least once before he was shot by the defendant," Bretz previously told Joliet Patch.

Where is Ollie now? WESTERN ILLINOIS CORRECTIONAL CENTER
What's his parole date? 07/12/2024

6. Tariq Pinnick, Lockport, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Tariq Pinnick, a former Lewis University student who spent nearly five years in the Will County Jail facing first-degree murder charges, worked out a plea bargain last November in the Jan. 13, 2016, shooting death of Dylan Somma, 22.

The Will County State's Attorney's Office agreed to dismiss the first-degree murder charges against Pinnick, who fatally shot Somma once in the chest in a yard on Barry Avenue in Lockport Township. Pinnick pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. Pinnick was represented by Joliet criminal defense attorney Jeff Tomczak. Will County Judge Sarah Jones sentenced Pinnick to 17 years in prison. Pinnick got credit for time already served.

Where is Pinnick now? Shawnee Correctional Center.

What's his parole date? 06/18/2025

7. Bobbie Ollom, Seneca, formerly of Joliet. Pleaded guilty to armed robbery.

Bobbie Ollom, a young woman who spent about two-and-a-half years in the Will County Jail facing first-degree murder charges, pleaded guilty to armed robbery last November for her role in the Joliet Denny's parking lot killing of Crest Hill resident Gregory Brown, 36.

Provided that Ollom testifies at the upcoming trials of her two co-defendants, Joshua Topaz Anderson and Christopher Parker, the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow will dismiss Ollom's two remaining charges of first-degree murder and robbery, according to her attorney Chuck Bretz.

"She has to testify truthfully," Bretz said.

Where is Ollom now? In the Will County Jail. Her bail remains $5 million.

What's next? Ollom is scheduled for her sentencing April 12.

8. Rasean Stokes, Joliet, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, attempted obstruction of justice.

At 18, Rasean Stokes was arrested by Joliet police on first-degree murder charges in connection with the shootout involving two cars heading in opposite directions near AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical in February 2020. Stokes was not a shooter, he was driving one of the cars, according to Tomczak, his lawyer.

Six days of short of his one-year stay in the Will County Jail, Stokes was released from jail. His murder charges were dismissed in February 2021 by Will County's Chief Judge Dan Kennedy. Two additional felonies were dismissed as Stokes pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted obstruction of justice.

"It's absolutely sad that a person died, but at the same time, my client should never have been charged. In my opinion, he's a victim in this, too," Tomczak said a year ago.

After spending 364 days in jail, Stokes was given credit for time served and freed from the Will County Jail on Feb. 2, 2021. He is now 20.

9. Jasper Johnson, Joliet, found guilty of first-degree murder at Will County jury trial.

A two-week-long jury trial for Jasper Johnson came to an end in December when a Will County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the June 2017 Joliet shooting death of his 30-year-old girlfriend Kia Johnson.

Kia Johnson was found face down on the floor of her Evergreen Terrace apartment unit. She died from her gunshot wound a few days later.

"Kia Johnson lost her life in a senseless shooting by a convicted felon," Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow remarked after Jasper Johnson's recent trial. "When you pull the trigger of a gun pointed in someone's direction, it's not playing; it's murder."

Jasper Johnson was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. His minimum sentence will be 45 years of imprisonment, prosecutors told Joliet Patch.

Where is Johnson? He has remained in the Will County since June 5, 2017.

What's next? A hearing on Johnson's attempts to get a new trial is scheduled for March 7 in Courtroom 501 of Judge Sarah Jones. Johnson's sentencing date has not been set.

10. Javier Heredia-Rios, Joliet, found guilty of first-degree murder at Will County jury trial.

Five years and three months after a Joliet man died after being hit over the head with a hammer and strangled, Will County Judge Sarah Jones found defendant Javier Heredia-Rios guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of concealing a homicide on Jan. 14.

Heredia-Rios and Oscar Garrido-Castro, 36, were longtime acquaintances and were together at Mora Builders on West 159th Street in Homer Glen, where Heredia-Rios was employed, Will County police said at the time. The business was closed when the two men began to argue about sexual advances that Garrido-Castro made to Heredia-Rios, according to police.

Now 37, Heredia-Rios faces up top 60 years in prison on his first-degree murder conviction and up to five years on his concealment count. Heredia-Rios chose to have his trial in front of the judge rather than a jury.

Where is Heredia-Rios? A former resident of Eastern Avenue, Heredia-Rios has been in the Will County Jail since the Will County Sheriff's Office arrested him Oct. 18, 2016.

What's next? Jones will sentence Heredia-Rios on March 18 in Courtroom 501.