$850 For Oral Sex Lured Murder Victim To Denny's In Joliet: Police

JOLIET, IL — A pretrial detention petition filed by the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow to keep Joliet first-degree murder defendant Chris Parker behind bars provides more insight into the Denny's restaurant parking lot killing of 36-year-old Crest Hill resident Gregory Brown nearly five years ago.

Utilizing the SAFE-T-Act, Parker, now 27, hoped to regain his freedom while awaiting his trial. However, the prosecution's petition convinced Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak to keep the Chicagoan inside the Will County Jail, where he's been since May 8, 2019.

The prosecution's petition also revealed extensive efforts by the three co-defendants — Parker, his cousin Joshua Topaz Anderson and Anderson's girlfriend, Bobbie Jo Ollom — to cover up the homicide and avoid capture by the Joliet police.

Now 28 years old, Ollom is already serving her 18-year prison term within the Illinois Department of Corrections, after pleading guilty to the crime of armed robbery. The Seneca woman has a projected parole date in August 2034.

According to the prosecution's filing to keep Parker, the suspected shooter, incarcerated:

• At 10:03 p.m. on April 30, 2019, Joliet police were sent to the Denny's restaurant on Plainfield Road, where Brown was found dead in the parking lot. He suffered a gunshot to the head.
• The Denny's video surveillance showed Brown arriving at 9:12 p.m. in his Yukon as Ollom pulled into the lot, driving her four-door sedan. After their meal at Denny's, Ollom eventually went back to her car, and moments later, Brown also opened her passenger's door.
• "Within seconds of him entering, Ollom is seen jumping out of the vehicle followed by an individual from the back passenger's seat who exits and is observed removing the victim from the car, leaving his body on the ground of the parking lot, and going through his pockets."
• "Victim was seen on video with a large amount of cash and a cell phone. Victim did not have that large amount of cash or cell phone on him after being dumped, and it was not in his vehicle. No firearm and no casing was found on scene."

According to prosecutors, Brown's lifeless body remained in the parking lot for about 30 minutes until he was discovered. By then, Ollom and her two co-defendants, Parker and Anderson, had sped off to Chicago, where Anderson and Parker lived.

Joliet police later found the murder victim's cell phone tossed near Interstate 55 west of the southeast Frontage Road near Whitecliffe Drive. Detectives also learned that Ollom worked at the Symphony of Joliet nursing home on Larkin Avenue and, on the same day of the killing, she wore the "same hooded sweatshirt with Nike symbol at work as in Denny's."

Ollom later told Joliet police that her car was used in Brown's murder, and was later cleaned at the request of her boyfriend, Anderson, court documents show.

By May 3, 2019, Joliet police Lt. Jeremy Harrison and Sgt. Tim Powers went to Chicago and interviewed Donald Mitchell, 59, a friend of Anderson's father.

"Donald stated Joshua paid $40 for Donald to detail the Chrysler 200. Donald stated a female white who believed to be Joshua's girlfriend was also present ... He was told by Joshua to pay extra attention in cleaning the front passenger seat area. Donald noticed a red spot on the front passenger seat which he scrubbed out with only using soap and water," the petition reflected.

By May 4, 2019, authorities in Burlington, Iowa, had captured Anderson and Ollom in connection with the Joliet murder. Anderson told police that Parker was his cousin and Parker lived in Chicago with his grandmother. Anderson and Ollom had dated the past eight months after meeting through Facebook.

"They were meeting at Denny's to do a robbery which was planned prior," prosecutors noted. "They were going to get $850 that was planned for an oral sex act between Bobbie and the victim. The shooting occurred within three seconds of the victim entering Bobbie's light blue Chrysler 200.

"Joshua stated Chris was the shooter ... Chris exited the rear passenger side after shooting the victim and opened the front passenger side door where the victim was seated in the vehicle. Chris pulls the victim out of the car and goes through the victim's pockets. Chris yells at Joshua to 'Drive, Drive, Drive.'"

According to prosecutors, Anderson got into the driver's seat, Parker became the front seat passenger and Ollom got into the rear driver's side seat, and they left Denny's by turning right on Route 30 toward Interstate 55. "The Chrysler was left in Chicago and Joshua's father helped him get the Chrysler cleaned ... Bobbie borrowed her family's black four-door vehicle, which was the vehicle that they were later pulled over in while in Iowa."

By May 13, 2019, Joliet police detectives Jose Martinez and Aaron Bandy videotaped their interview with Ollom after traveling to the Burlington Iowa Police Department.

"Bobbie admitted to setting up the victim to rob him," Parker's detention petition revealed. "Bobbie, through Facebook Messenger, agreed to meet the victim at Denny's restaurant. The victim agreed to pay Bobbie $850 for sex. The robbery was the idea of her boyfriend's cousin named Chris Parker. Parker wanted to rob the victim because Parker had been shown Facebook photos of the victim with a large amount of money."

Ollom later told Detective Bandy that she lured Brown back to her car after their meal and "she heard a struggle, and she heard a shot go off ... She saw Christopher put a small black gun down while he was with the victim after the victim had been shot. Christopher then went through the victim's pockets and took out a large amount of cash from the victim," prosecutors revealed.

Parker's Will County murder trial is set to begin May 6 in Courtroom 502. A pretrial motions hearing is set for April 19. As for Parker's cousin, Anderson will be back in Courtroom 502 on Jan. 4 for a pretrial hearing focused on setting his own trial date.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Bobbie Jo Ollom, Denny's Murder Co-Defendant, Learns Prison Term