$5M Bail Won't Be Reduced In Denny's Murder Despite Guilty Plea

JOLIET, IL — Bobbie Ollom, the only co-defendant to plead guilty in connection with the April 30, 2019, homicide of Gregory Brown in the Joliet Denny's Restaurant parking lot, will not be released from the Will County Jail on a lowered bail as she awaits her sentencing.

"In addition to her acceptance of responsibility by her plea of guilty ... the defendant has also agreed to provide her truthful testimony in the murder trials of her co-defendants," her attorney Chuck Bretz's motion to reconsider stated.

This month, Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak denied the latest motion from Bretz, asking that his client's bail be reduced from $5 million to $1 million. Bretz tried to lower his client's bail in April 2021 and was unsuccessful that time, too.

In November, Ollom pleaded guilty to armed robbery, and her first-degree murder charges were dropped under her plea agreement. Around 10 p.m., Brown suffered a fatal gunshot wound in the parking lot shortly after eating inside the Denny's with Ollom.

Bretz's motion to reconsider stated that Ollom's mother and grandmother suffer from significant health issues and experience hardships because of Ollom's absence from the home. Will County Jail records listed Ollom as being a Seneca resident, although she lived in Joliet prior to the Denny's slaying on Plainfield Road.

"Bobbie is a good girl," her grandmother Betty Warren wrote the judge in late November. "Before she met Josh, she had a good job, a nice car and a bank account. She was a CNA. She loved working for the elderly.

"Bobbie has a heart of gold. She didn't like to see anyone hurt or sad," her grandmother wrote. "I know in my heart that she is very remorseful and sad about what happened. If you could find it in your heart to give her a second chance, I know that nothing like this would ever happen again."

After the Joliet homicide, Ollom and co-defendant Joshua Topaz Anderson of Chicago were arrested four days later by authorities in Iowa.

"Through the investigation, detectives were able to determine that Ollom's boyfriend, Joshua T. Anderson, and Christopher C. Parker lured Brown into Ollom's vehicle with the intent of robbing Brown. During the course of the robbery, Brown was shot in the head inside of Ollom's vehicle. Brown was then pulled out of the vehicle and left in the parking lot," Joliet police announced in 2019.

"Ollom, Anderson and Parker then left the area and dropped off Ollom's vehicle in Chicago. Ollom and Anderson were able to get another vehicle and eventually headed west towards Iowa," police noted. "Detectives were able to determine that Ollom and Anderson might be staying at a relative of Ollom's house in West Burlington, Iowa."

Anderson, now 23, and Christopher Parker, now 25, are both awaiting their trials in Will County. Like Ollom, their bail is also set at $5 million.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Joliet Murder Defendant Pleads Guilty To Armed Robbery

Denny's Murder Defendant Deserves Lower Bail: Bretz

Denny's Murder Defendants Jailed In Iowa