Joliet's Homicides: 6 Solved, 6 Unsolved In 2019

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Police Department has investigated 14 homicides so far in 2019. A total of six of those murder cases have been solved or cleared, while another six remain unsolved.

In one of the cleared cases it was not possible for Joliet Police to make an arrest: the late February triple murder-suicide in the 500 block of Whitley Avenue. Gunman Brandyn Lee, 34, fatally shot his girlfriend, Jacquelon Gaskin, and their children, ages 6 and 1, before turning the gun on himself.

There is also another homicide that Joliet Police consider solved, even though it did not lead to an arrest. On Saturday, May 18, 43-year-old Edward Summers died from a fatal stabbing to his chest, hours after a domestic violence quarrel with his female companion.

After being stabbed inside his apartment in the 1100 block of Parkwood Drive, Summers tried to drive away. Around 1 p.m., he lost control and crashed in Rockdale. An ambulance rushed him to St. Joe's hospital where Summers later died from his stab wounds. At this point, his homicide is considered a self-defense stabbing, Joliet Police informed Patch on Wednesday.

Of the remaining 10 homicides in the city this year, the Joliet Police Department has made arrests in four of those cases.

Nowadays, the criminal investigations unit is led by Darrell Gavin, who succeeded Al Roechner, upon his promotion to chief last August. Gavin was promoted from detective sergeant to deputy chief of investigations last December.

This week, Joliet Patch asked Gavin how he would rate his performance as deputy chief of investigations after nearly a full year on the job.

"It would be disingenuous for me to judge my own performance," Gavin responded in writing. "I leave the performance rating to the chief, city manager, mayor, city council, extremely hard working personnel that I supervise, and the citizens of our great city that I have had the pleasure of getting to know and who know me on a professional and personal level. They know I am genuine, and they are aware that I give my best and expect the best out of all the people under my purview.

"I will say that the detectives working on those unsolved homicides will not stop until there is an arrest made. This is credit to their diligence, dedication and work ethic ..."

Aside from the triple-murder suicide on Whitley Avenue and the self-defense fatal stabbing on Parkwood, here's a short summary of the city of Joliet's 10 remaining homicides:

1. MARCELLO DILWORTH, murdered July 27

Dilworth, 19, was shot on the porch numerous times in the 100 block of Hobbs Avenue, on the city's east side. The homicide happened around 12:55 a.m. on a Saturday, and the killer got away before police cars arrived.

Homicide remains unsolved. No arrests, six weeks later.

2. ALEJANDRO MENDOZA, murdered July 14

Mendoza, 17, was fatally shot around 6:15 a.m. on a Sunday. Joliet Police found shooting victim Alejandro Mendoza of Joliet inside a vehicle near Elwood and Creed. Joliet Police found a home on the 600 block of Chase with bullet holes and recovered a loaded firearm.

Homicide solved. Joliet Police took a 15-year-old juvenile into custody after police determined he was the shooter. The teen is being held at Joliet's River Valley Juvenile Detention Center.

3. TYRONE PORTIS, murdered June 9

Portis, 17, was fatally shot inside a car in the 700 block of East Palladium Drive, on the city's west side, near Black Road. A 17-year-old girl in the car was also seriously injured. A gunman in another vehicle opened fire. One person who lives in the area said she heard between 10 to 12 gunshots at 3:05 a.m. early that Sunday morning.

Homicide remains unsolved. No arrests, three months later.

4. GREGORY G. BROWN, murdered April 30

Brown, a 36-year-old Crest Hill resident, was fatally shot outside of the Denny's restaurant in the 2500 block of Plainfield Road shortly after 10 p.m.

Homicide solved. Three arrests were made within a week of the killing. Joliet Police arrested Bobbie Ollom, 23, formerly of Joliet, and Joshua Anderson, 20, in Iowa on charges of first-degree murder, robbery and armed robbery. A third co-defendant, Christopher C. Parker, 23, of Chicago, was charged with first-degree murder, robbery and armed robbery.

5. JAKIAS HOLMAN, murdered March 27

The Joliet resident died on a Wednesday in the 1000 block of Magnolia Avenue, which is the Forest Park area. The 26-year-old Joliet man died after suffering multiple gunshot wounds around 7:45 p.m.

Homicide remains unsolved. No arrests, six months later.

6. DIMITRI ALLEN, murdered March 25

The 26-year-old Joliet resident was fatally shot in the chest in the 1100 block of Cutter Avenue, which is the Forest Park area. Allen was found in a backyard of a house on Cutter Avenue, near Ada Street.

Homicide remains unsolved. No arrests, six months later.

7. EMANUEL "SAM" BURGARINO, murdered March 24

The 76-year-old Hales Corners, Wisconsin resident was stabbed 26 times on a Sunday night in the fifth floor hallway of Harrah's Casino Hotel in downtown Joliet.

Homicide solved. The following day, Joliet Police arrested Robert A. Watson on multiple counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors say Watson attacked the Wisconsin man to steal his cash. Watson was homeless and slipped into the building overlooked by Harrah's security guards, according to courtroom testimony. The homicide victim did not know his attacker.

8. TERESA COLLADO, murdered March 22, during an arson.

The 87-year-old Joliet resident died at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood after suffering severe burns in the second-floor of her far west side Joliet house, 1906 Glacier Ridge Drive.

Homicide solved. Joliet Police arrested her grandson, William Vera, 32. The fire happened on a Friday, around 1:30 p.m. During his first court appearance, Vera blurted out in court that he had in fact set the fire that killed his grandmother because he had a mental disability.

9. JAVIER CAYETANO, murdered Thursday, Feb. 21 in the Reedwood neighborhood. The 13-year-old Joliet boy died after suffering multiple gunshot wounds. Two other juveniles with him also were shot but their wounds were not life-threatening. The west-side shooting was reported at 7:43 p.m. The killing of the 13-year-old boy happened in an alley in the 1000 block of Morgan Street.

Homicide remains unsolved. No arrests, seven months later.

Joliet Patch asked Gavin to address why the killing of the junior high student has yet to be cleared with an arrest, now seven months later.

"This case is particularly troubling for many of our detectives because the victim was so young," Gavin explained on Wednesday. "The detectives working that case have been diligent in their efforts, but have been slowed because of the lack of cooperation from the other juveniles that were with the victim when the shooting occurred.

"Although detectives have made significant progress in that case, the lack of cooperation from those juveniles have really hampered their efforts. We are aware that they have much more information to share and possibly even know who the shooter was from other sources. Unfortunately, those third party sources were not there, and it isn't enough without a witness or the other juveniles coming forward to provide us those detailed statements that would be needed in order for the (State's Attorney's Office) to charge who was responsible.

"We again urge anyone .... (including) the juveniles that witnessed the shooting, to come forward and provide the information that you have, so we can help bring some semblance of closure to the victims' family members," Gavin said.

10. EUGENE HOLMES, 27, murdered February 24

Holmes was fatally shot inside his house during a drive-by shooting around 1:45 a.m. on a Sunday, when a car pulled up to his house in the 400 block of South Ottawa Street, the city's southeast side. Several people were inside the house at the time of the shooting. Holmes was the only person struck by the bullets. Holmes worked at the Burger Theory restaurant off Houbolt Road and I-80.

Homicide remains unsolved. No arrests, seven months later.

Patch also asked Gavin to address the obstacles facing Joliet Police in solving the Holmes slaying. The homicide victim had no prior adult criminal history at the time of his death. "As with all of our homicides that are unsolved at this point in the year, this is a case where we have limited information in terms of witness statements," Gavin explained.

"There are people that we know of that have more information than what they were willing to share when the homicide occurred. We need those people to provide the information we know they have, and to begin to cooperate with the investigation. The many pieces of evidence diligently collected in this case is not sufficient alone. We have to have ... witness statements and witness cooperation for this case to be solved. I know it sounds like a broken record at this point, but the message is extremely important for our citizens to understand, which is why we are so diligent with sharing information that we can. Having the knowledge to put those responsible away for a very long time and prevent them from harming someone else is the right reason to come forward and cooperate with this or any homicide investigation."