Joliet's 8 Unsolved Homicides In 2019: NY Police Expert Weighs In

JOLIET, IL — In 2018, the Joliet Police Department had an outstanding year of clearing homicide cases. Joliet Police made arrests in six different homicides while only two slayings went unsolved. But this year has been a struggle. The city of Joliet currently has eight unsolved homicides. The most recent three, all from October, remain unsolved, more than two months later.

Joliet Police's criminal investigations unit is led by Police Chief Al Roechner and Deputy Chief Darrell Gavin, a former detective sergeant.

With less than two weeks to go, 2019 is shaping up to be one of the Joliet Police Department's worst in terms of solving homicides in recent years.

In 2017, Joliet had five unsolved homicide cases with a total of eight victims. In 2016, the city had five unsolved homicides with a total of six victims. In 2015, the city also had five unsolved homicide cases with a total of six victims.

Over the past five years, the Joliet Police Department has had 25 separate homicide cases that remain unsolved, with a total of 30 homicide victims.

This month, Joliet Patch reached out to a national police expert, Joe Giacalone, for his feedback and insight surrounding the Joliet Police Department's current struggles.

Giacalone is a retired New York Police Department detective sergeant who was executive officer of the 110th Precinct Detective Squad in Queens and the commanding officer of the Bronx Cold Case Squad.

"He has consulted and trained law enforcement officers from all over the United States and the world. He is the recipient of the NYPD Medal for Valor," his online profile notes.

Nationally, the homicide clearance rate was 62.3 percent in 2018, Giacalone told Patch.

Last year, Joliet Police solved six out of eight homicide cases, putting its percentage at 75 percent. But with two weeks left in 2019 and eight separate unsolved homicides, Joliet's clearance rate is hovering around 50 percent. Joliet's 2019 clearance rate is affected by the fact that two of the cases involved murder-suicides. Another case, a stabbing death, was determined to be a justifiable homicide by Will County State's Attorney's Office James Glasgow.

As for the eight unsolved deaths, "If these were my cases, my first questions would be, 'Are any of these cases connected to something else?' Any of the victims connected? If I have ballistics, are any of them a match? I'd reach out to the ATF to help me there," Giacalone told Joliet Patch.

"I'd also reach out to surrounding counties to see if there are any connections. Sometimes another jurisdiction may hold the missing piece. I'd re-canvass the locations for video surveillance. I'd also canvass on a monthly schedule to try and mitigate any retaliation," he added.

Not only does the Joliet Police Department have eight different unsolved homicides in 2019, the investigations unit has not made any arrests on an unsolved killing from previous years. In other words, all of the unsolved killings from 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 have stayed unsolved.

But, as Giacalone pointed out, "that's not unusual. Cases open this long, generally, have problems such as lack of evidence, witness, surveillance video, etc. Many cases need help from the public either direct, hearsay or even rumor is helpful to jump start a case."

Two noteworthy homicides from 2017 with multiple victims remain unsolved at Joliet PD.

One is the triple homicide on Great Falls Drive inside the house of ex-convict Anthony McGee. McGee and two friends, also 21, were gunned down, and the killer has never been brought to justice.

The New Year's Eve 2017 double slaying on The Hill of passengers 15-year-old Victor J. Arroyo and 17-year-old Aliyah M. Salazar is approaching its two-year anniversary and still no arrests from the Joliet Police Department.

About 20 minutes before midnight, the two homicide victims were sitting inside a parked car when someone ran out of the housing projects and opened fire on their car. The two front-seat passengers were not shot. The killer ran off and got away.

"I'd reach out to patrol officers for any intelligence they may have on the victims and or locations," Giacalone told Patch. "I'd make sure my detectives were debriefing every new arrest for any information. I'd also speak with recent parolees and probationers."

If Joliet Police detectives have not already done so, Giacalone said, he would map out all the city's recent unsolved homicides by the dates, times and locations.

"Do they have an arrest history?" he asked. "Gangs? Drugs? Executing (two people) in a car is not a random act."

Under Chief Roechner, the Joliet Police Department rarely ever utilizes its Facebook and social media accounts to draw attention to its unsolved homicide cases.

"I would suggest a short clip on TV media or social media (with) the facts of the case," Giacalone advised Patch. "In a bold move, police departments should be podcasting their cold cases. True crime is all the rage these days and police departments aren't doing enough to tap into that."

Another suggestion from Giacalone is to increase the reward money for some of these unsolved homicide cases and make sure that any rewards are publicized in the news media.

*Here's the city of Joliet's eight 2019 unsolved slayings:

Oct. 10, Jesse Hannah, 33, near Krakar and Elgin Avenues.

Oct. 17, Dearis Evans, 24, 800 block of Cora Street.

Oct. 17, Shaianne Williams, 25, California Avenue and Rosalind Street.

July 27, Marcello Dilworth, 19, 100 block of Hobbs Avenue.

June 9, Tyrone "TJ" Portis, 17, 700 block of East Palladium Drive.

March 27, Jakias Holman, 26, 1000 block of Magnolia Avenue.

Feb. 24, Eugene Holmes, 27, 400 block of South Ottawa Street.

Feb. 21, Javier Cayetano, 13, 300 block of South May Street.

(List only includes homicides handled by city police. Any homicides handled by the Will County Sheriff's Office or ones in Joliet Township are not listed here.)