CREST HILL — Mary Beth Mosqueda, the 37-year-old Joliet woman who has been in and out of the Will County Jail over the years, has worked out a plea agreement in connection with the deaths of a Plainfield husband and wife who were killed in the middle of Plainfield Road back in 2024.
Mosqueda, who has remained inside Will County's Jail since losing her SAFE-T-Act detention hearing in September 2024, was led into Will County Courtroom 404 of Judge Vincent Cornelius on Wednesday for her plea and sentencing hearing. According to documents supplied by the Will County State's Attorney's Office, Mosqueda pleaded guilty to two crimes of failure to report an accident involving injury or death.
"On March 9, 2024, defendant struck Danny and Laurie Cooper while they were crossing the street. Defendant did not stop and failed to report the incident to law enforcement. After the incident, defendant made attempts to replace the damaged hood and searched on Google regarding the incident," the prosecution's official statement of facts read.
Mosqueda was sentenced to seven years at the Illinois Department of Corrections for each fatality. However, she will not serve 14 years. Instead, both of her seven-year prison sentences were ordered to run at the same time.
Even then, Mosqueda won't be spending the next seven years of her life behind a prison wall.
Her sentences were ordered to be served at 50 percent, and Mosqueda was given credit for spending the past 700 days in the Will County Jail. Representing Mosqueda during her criminal process was downtown Joliet attorney Chuck Bretz.
In September 2024, Joliet Patch reported that the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow convinced Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius that Mosqueda must remain locked away from society under the SAFE-T-Act.
"Mary's Facebook records were obtained as well," the Will County State's Attorney petition to deny pretrial release for Mosqueda indicated. "On March 10 at 9:53 p.m., one day after the crash, she messaged Cody Talmadge. At 11 :57 p.m., on March 10 she sends him a picture of the damage to the Jeep looking for his help fixing it.
"On March 11, 2024, she is reaching out to a person trying to buy a hood for a Jeep. The defendant's Google searches show that on March 10 at around 8 a.m, nine hours after the collision, she was looking up words relating to the occurrence. Her Google searches near that time included "Joliet Patch," "Hit on Plan," "Hit on Plainfield Road Joliet il" and "Hit on Plainfield Road Joliet il today."
Double Fatality Incident Captured On Video: Prosecutors
According to Will County prosecutor Tricia McKenna:
On March 9, at 10:58 p.m. the two victims, Danny Cooper, age 68, and wife, Laurie Cooper, age 53, were crossing Plainfield Road from AB Gustos Bar at 2115 Plainfield Road in Crest Hill.
"This incident is captured on video," McKenna wrote.
A vehicle heading eastbound on Plainfield Road struck both of them, causing the vehicle to visibly jump. The Coopers were left in the road, and the vehicle that struck them left the area.
Both victims died of their injuries.
The vehicle was eventually identified as a Jeep Compass with license plate EA 13580.
As for Mosqueda, she gave "multiple statements," to Crest Hill police regarding her role in ending the lives of Danny Cooper and Laurie Cooper, McKenna outlined.
"In the first, she verified her phone number and said the Jeep was a rental she was borrowing from 'Doug,'" McKenna pointed out. "The vehicle was damaged when a tree branch hit the hood on March 10, 2024. She didn't see the tree fall and didn't even know how she knew a tree hit it.
"She then said she drove the Jeep to the hotel with Jeanette to meet Carl" from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. and "she said her cell phone locations would not show her near the Jeep during this time."
Court records reflect that "Doug Marks said he rented the car through the Turo app for his friend who ended up getting arrested and not needing it, so the Jeep was sitting at Jeanette's house. Mary asked him if she could use it to go out with Jeanette and he agreed. Mary and Jeanette left with Mary driving. Mary did not return with the Jeep, court documents noted.
On March 10, the day after the double fatal, "Mary met Doug to give him more money to continue to rent it and was behaving strangely, acting concerned about Doug not parking near the Jeep. Joseph Blakemore, also known as (Shorty O) stated he got a call to pick up Mary and Jeanette on March 9 around 11 p.m. very near the time· of the crash," prosecutors pointed out.
"He went to Best Western around 11:15 p.m. or 11:30 p.m. and saw the damaged Jeep. Mary was high and alone in the vehicle, in the driver's seat. She had Joseph pick up Jeanette from the Fairfield Inn, and they drove Jeanette to Channahon. Joseph said Mary told him someone else was driving the Jeep."
Where will Mosqueda live after she finishes out the time she still needs to serve off her seven-year prison sentence? Sentencing documents place her in the apartment units for the building in the 300 block of Joliet's Davison Street.
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