Joliet Man Found Guilty for Fatally Shooting Man, Wounding Son

JOLIET, IL — A 31-year-old Joliet man has been found guilty for the 2014 murder of a 59-year-old man.

Aloysius Alexander, 31, of the 300 block of North Bluff Street, shot Johnny Lockhart, 59, in an alley in the 500 block of North Chicago Street on Dec. 6, 2014. Alexander also shot the victim’s son, Ledontia Lockhart, in the back. Ledontia, however, survived the attack and testified against Alexander at a bench trial that concluded earlier this month, according to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Circuit Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes, who presided over the bench trial, also found Alexander guilty of aggravated battery with a firearm for shooting Ledontia Lockhart as well as unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. The defendant faces up to life in prison for these crimes. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2.

Alexander and two friends, Brian Gregory and Mike Smith, went to the Chicago Street apartment building to confront Ledontia Lockhart over a $400 money order he had been accused of taking and cashing, according to the state’s attorney’s office. The money order belonged to Smith’s girlfriend. Both Gregory and Smith testified against Alexander.

Johnny Lockhart had come down the stairs in the alley when he heard noise from an altercation between his son and the three men who came to confront him. Alexander unexpectedly opened fire on both Johnny Lockhart and Ledontia Lockhart as they were walking back up the stairs.

Gregory and Smith ran to their car followed by Alexander. They dropped off Alexander at the Evergreen Terrace apartment complex where he lives. The defendant turned himself in to police the following day.

“Aloysius Alexander is a violent and cold-blooded killer who gunned down an innocent man for no apparent reason after shooting his son in the back,” said State’s Attorney Glasgow. “He will be placed behind prison bars in the Illinois Department of Corrections where he can spend his time contemplating this senseless act of violence.”

photo via the Will County State's Attorney's Office