Attempted Murderer At Joliet's Teen Detention Center Left Victim 'Nonverbal,' Judge Sentences 'Lil Moe'

JOLIET, IL — One of the meanest and most violent teenagers to come out of Kankakee in recent memory, Donovan Dewayne Burbridge, was sentenced to 20 years of prison at the Illinois Department of Corrections on Wednesday for an attempted murder he committed inside Joliet's youth detention facility.

Burbridge, who just turned 18 years old this summer, must serve his prison sentence at 85 percent. Besides the attempted first-degree murder, the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow also convicted Burbridge of aggravated battery during his jury trial in June. Wednesday's sentencing went in front of Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak.

In April 2025, Joliet Patch reported that Burbridge, who has a long rap sheet even as a juvenile, was being charged as an adult with attempted murder in connection with a 2024 brutal and premeditated attack upon a fellow inmate at Joliet's River Valley Juvenile Detention Center off McDonough Street. At the time of the story, Burbridge was only 16 years old.

The Joliet detention center crime left his teenage victim in a nonverbal state. "Victim is still on a feeding tube needing assistance with feeding and unable to swallow," Will County prosecutors outlined in court documents last year. The victim had surgery on his head and his "hands are contracted."

As for Burbridge, he was smiling after his premeditated attack left his victim motionless on the floor, court documents say.

"The entire attack is on video and it lasts about 15 to 20 seconds," prosecutors said in court filings. "Per the staff removing defendant Burbridge, he was laughing as he was removed from the room to a holding cell."

According to Will County prosecutors, Burbridge teamed up with another juvenile to carry out the attack on the 17-year-old, who is also from Kankakee. The crime happened around 8 p.m. on March 24, 2024, and the victim had only been in Joliet at River Valley for less than 24 hours.

According to prosecutors, the victim was seated in a school-style desk when Burbridge, then just 15 years old, and another inmate, N.M., who is a minor, got up together from a table where they were playing cards and approached the victim. "Both Burbridge and co-defendant N.M. threw repeated rapid punches at victim," prosecutors outlined in their petition for pretrial detention. "Victim had his back to the attack. Victim was struck and went to the ground into a fetal position but may have been knocked out as he did not really move/defend himself."

At that point, Burbridge and N.M. "stomped victim's head and kicked victim repeatedly and violently and attacked victim together as victim was motionless on the ground," the petition said.

As for the victim, when River Valley staff found him, his eyes were closed. He was breathing and snoring. An ambulance rushed him to St. Joe's hospital, and he was taken by helicopter to Loyola in Maywood. The victim suffered a traumatic brain injury and "was in critical condition and not expected to live," prosecutors explained.

Will County prosecutors revealed that Burbridge is affiliated with the "MOS" gang while N.M. is affiliated with the "Too Wicked" gang and the victim in that incident was affiliated with the "Ova East" gang, court files show.

According to court documents, that victim's family later saw a Facebook post "believed to belong to defendant Burbridge ... Defendant Burbridge is said to go by Lil Moe and co-defendant by Baby Wick or Lil Nate ... the post indicated, 'We just stomped peanut ta sleep last night omdh that luh shii y'all did at the high school we nothing *** laughing/crying emojis. Victim's father indicated victim was involved in a fight last season at a Kankakee High School football game. Defendant and victim are from Kankakee."

Burbridge's criminal history includes charges out of Kankakee from December 2022 for aggravated vehicle hijacking with a gun, armed robbery with a gun, vehicle hijacking, aggravated robbery and unlawful possession of a motor vehicle. He had a May 2022 arrest for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest and a June 2023 arrest for escape for cutting off his electronic home monitoring bracelet.