Another Homicide Ruling: Joliet Halloween Party Mass Shootings

JOLIET, IL — The death of paralyzed Joliet Latin King street gang member Sergio Hernandez, who was the intended target of the gunmen who opened fire upon a crowd of at least 200 at the Joliet Township Halloween party, has been ruled a homicide, Will County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dan Jungles informed Patch on Thursday.

"We will be meeting with the State's Attorney's Office to present the official information for upgraded charges pertaining to his death," Jungles informed Joliet Patch.

The Halloween party shootings happened in the large yard at 1018 East Jackson Street during the early morning hours of Oct. 31, 2021, just outside the city of Joliet limits.

Two shooting victims were found dead on the property, Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22. Hernandez survived the shooting, but he remained hospitalized for the remainder of his life until he died last Oct. 30, just one before the mass shooting's anniversary.

According to Jungles, Hernandez was under medical care at The Grove of Elmhurst, 127 Diversey in Elmhurst. When medical staff found him unresponsive, Hernandez was taken by ambulance to the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, where he died at 8:18 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2022.

He was 20 years old.

Autopsy reports provided to Jungles from DuPage County indicate the cause of death for Hernandez was chronic respiratory failure, quadriplegia and gunshot wound to his shoulder.

His manner of death is homicide.

Thursday's development means that Will County Sheriff's officials now have a strong case to convince the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow to file first-degree murder charges against the three co-defendants already sitting in the Will County Jail for the mass shootings: Joliet's Gael Drive resident, Joskar Ramos, now 19, plus the Lopez brothers.

Jeremy Lopez, now 19, comes from the 100 block of Joliet's Clement Street. Thomas Lopez, now 22, also lived at that address, jail logs show.

Bail for Ramos remains at $11 million, while the Lopez brothers each have a $10 million bail.

All three co-defendants remain in the slow pretrial phase of the legal process. There is no expectation that any of their murder trials will take place in 2023.

Last October, Joliet Patch reported that Hernandez was a member of the Latin Kings street gang while the other three young men now charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, Ramos and the Lopez brothers, were all Vice Lords, according to Jungles.

"It was an ongoing beef between the two street gangs," Jungles said.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Vice Lords Targeted Latin King In Halloween Party Shooting: Sheriff

Paralyzed At Halloween Party: Joliet Teen Still Faces 2021 Gun Charge

Target Of Halloween Party Shooting Dies 1 Year Later