Lawyer For Outlaw Accused Of Murder Wants Evidence Preserved

JOLIET, IL - On Monday morning, 32-year-old murder defendant Jeremy Boshears walked into the tiny video conference room set up at the Will County Adult Detention Facility. This marked his first appearance before a judge in connection the early morning fatal shooting of 24-year-old Katie Kearns, a bartender at Woody's Bar on Joliet's industrial east side. Over at the Will County Courthouse, Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes asked the name of the man with tattoos up and down his arms.

"Jeremy Boshears," he answered in a firm voice.

Monday's court appearance was mostly procedural. A formal not-guilty plea was entered on the defendant's behalf.

On Saturday, Boshears was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, all stemming from the Nov. 13 early morning fatal shooting of the Joliet bartender who lived in rural Mokena.

No family or friends of Kearns appeared to be present for Monday's hearing. That's because they were in Mokena attending her funeral service at St. Mary's Church on 115th Avenue. Her burial was to take place at St. John Cemetery at 203rd Street and Wolf Road.

Kearns began tending bar about a month ago at Woody's, in the 1000 block of Joliet's East Washington Street. Boshears frequents the bar and struck up a romantic relationship with Kearns a couple weeks ago, according to police. He was a member of the Joliet Outlaws motorcycle club.

Will County Sheriff's Police said last week that Kearns had told at least four people she planned to visit the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse on East Washington Street, after leaving work last Sunday night, Nov. 12.

She was murdered during the early morning hours.

By late Thursday morning, Will County's SWAT team raided the motorcycle club on East Washington Street in search of evidence related to Kearns's murder. Police found her body and her 1996 Jeep about an hour southeast of Joliet, in Kankakee County. Kearns suffered one gunshot wound to her head.

After Monday's mostly routine court hearing, Joliet criminal defense attorney Neil Patel told reporters outside Courtroom 405 that it was too early to suggest that other people may be involved in the Kearns homicide or that Will County police made a hasty arrest and targeted the wrong suspect.

Police raided Boshears' house in Coal City during the early morning hours of last Thursday. Patel told reporters that as far as he knew, only two vehicles were impounded as part of the week-long murder investigation — the Jeep driven by the murder victim and one of his defendant's vehicles, which was parked over by the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse.

Although Boshears has lived in Coal City in recent years, he has strong family ties to Joliet and the New Lenox area. A review of his traffic citations at the Will County Courthouse shows that he used to live in the 2600 block of Joliet's East Cass Street and in the 700 block of North Cedar Road in New Lenox.

It was about this time last year when the Illinois State Police pulled over Boshears in Joliet Township on Interstate 80 and gave him a traffic ticket for driving 88 mph in a 55 mph zone, court records show.

But being stopped for excessive speeding in Will County and being charged with first-degree murder are night and day in the legal system. Along those lines, Patel told reporters that his client has no prior criminal record, and certainly nothing involving violence.

On Saturday, Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes set a $10 million bond for Boshears, meaning that he must come up with $1 million cash to go free while he awaits trial on the three counts of first-degree murder.

For Monday's relatively short court appearance, a handful of supporters of Boshears were present. However, they stood silent in the hallway when reporters approached them afterward seeking comment.

Patel told reporters it was his understanding that his client has been married for about 10 years. The defendant's wife, Rachel George, lives at their house in Coal City.

Another hearing in the murder case is set for Tuesday.

As Tuesday's evidentiary hearing, Patel said it is critical that as Boshears' criminal defense lawyer he knows exactly what evidence against his client exists, who has been interviewed by Will County sheriff's police and what their statements contain.

He also tried to downplay the Joliet Outlaws motorcycle club's connection to the killing. The defense lawyer said whether or not Boshears is a member of the Outlaws "is not relevant to this point."

Mugshot of Jeremy Boshears via Will County Sheriff's Department