JOLIET, IL — Patrick Gleason is now paying his debt to society for committing one of the worst premeditated first-degree murders that the city of Joliet has witnessed in decades. Back in March 2018, Gleason and his lady friend attended the REO Speedwagon concert at the downtown Joliet Rialto Square Theatre.
Afterward, the pair chose to frequent a small neighborhood bar on the edge of Joliet and Crest Hill — Izzy's — but once inside the Theodore Street establishment, Gleason began violating the tavern's rules by smoking multiple cigarettes. Gleason refused to comply with the warnings issued by the bartender and other customers who scolded him. Once Gleason was thrown out of the bar, the small late-night crowd of regular patrons figured they saw the last of Gleason.
Then 30 minutes later, Gleason dressed in all black and wore a scary mask as he returned to the bar and lurked inside the vestibule. Armed with his Smith & Wesson handgun, Gleason fatally shot the first person to encounter him — bartender Danny Rios in the head. From there, Gleason tried to kill others in the bar. Chaos erupted and the bar owner's son, Thomas, was shot in the abdomen.
On Feb. 3, Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius sentenced the masked gunman, Gleason, now 64 years old, to a grand total of 130 years at the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Gleason Sent To Menard Correctional Center
The judge gave Gleason 45 years for his first-degree murder conviction, which he will serve at 100 percent. The judge gave him another 25 years for the gun enhancement crime. The Illinois Department of Corrections inmate page indicates that Gleason is also serving 40 years for his attempted murder conviction and another 20 years for his aggravated battery discharging a firearm offense.
According to the DOC, Gleason is eligible for parole on March 9, 2139. If he lives that long, he will shatter the Guinness World Record for being the world's oldest living person. As Joliet Patch learned recently, Gleason is serving his Joliet murder case at a scary place: the Menard Correctional Center along the Mississippi River where the worst of the worst offenders from Illinois are often housed.
According to the John Howard Assocation, Menard Correctional Center, opened in 1878, is a maximum-security adult male facility in Chester, Illinois. It is the largest maximum-security facility in IDOC and had 1,982 inmates as of January.
Gleason Told Joliet Police "No One Likes A Murderer"
Back in 2023, Joliet Patch reported how Gleason's new criminal defense attorney, Jeff Tomczak, filed a motion to suppress the Joliet police statements of his client. Ultimately, when it came to Gleason's trial, none of the following information was presented in front of the Will County jury deciding Gleason's guilt or innocence last fall:
On March 10, 2018, Joliet Police Detective Marc Reid was assigned to a security detail prisoner watch for Gleason at Loyola hospital in Maywood. Reid's security watch began at 2 p.m. March 10, 2018, and continued until 6 a.m. March 11, 2018.
According to Reid's police report, "Gleason made the following spontaneous statements ... in my presence:
At February's sentencing, Gleason made no statement. His lawyers, Jeff Tomczak and CJ Haney, argued during the trial that their client had no memory whatsoever of the shooting due to his level of intoxication on that night.
During that sentencing, Laura Rios Alvarado, Danny's sister, walked to the front of the courtroom to read a victim impact statement.
"You fractured our lives, causing us to grapple with grief," she remarked. "Why did you hide behind a mask and a gun? Why isn't my brother here today?"
She wondered why Gleason, if he truly had a problem with her brother or other patrons at Izzy's, didn't just enter the bar and put up his fists and call for an old-fashioned fistfight to settle whatever dispute he had. Instead, he returned to the bar wearing his mask and carrying a gun.
"You Will Forever Be Known As A Murderer"
"You just knew my brother Dan would have kicked your ass," she exclaimed.
As for Gleason's future at the Illinois Department of Corrections, Alvarado assured him that when he sits inside his cell, he will hear the constant echoes of other cellblocks slamming shut.
"You will forever be known as a murderer," she declared. "You are a coward. While Daniel the third will be known as a hero. You had no mercy on Daniel's life. He was only 52 years old. You sit here like a coward."
Then everyone in the courtroom seated with the Rios family stood up and responded back.
"Rios Power!" she yelled.
"Rios Strong!" the group of 15 mourners stood up and repeated, many of them wearing black T-shirts that read Rios Strong in white letters.
"Shame on you! Hell awaits for you," Rios' sister assured Gleason. "And you cannot even face us. Look behind you, you have no one here."
Perhaps Gleason now finds himself occupying the very same prison cell at Menard that used to house notorious Joliet serial killer Milton Johnson, who committed all of his murders during the 1980s. Last year, one day after marking his 75th birthday, Johnson died at Menard.
Related Joliet Patch coverage:
Tomczak Law Group Aims To Bring Gleason's Murder Case To An End
Will Murder Victim Danny Rios' Body Be Exhumed From Grave?
Izzy's Bar Murder Defendant Remains Successful At Delaying Trial
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