Man Charged in Fatal Joliet Shooting

Aloysius Alexander. Credit: Will County Sheriff’s Office.

A 59-year-old man was killed early Saturday in the fourth gun-related homicide in Joliet in just over a week, police said.

A Joliet man was charged in the shooting, which left Johnny C. Lockhart dead and seriously wounded another man, police said.

Lockhart, of Joliet, was pronounced dead at 2:01 a.m. in the 500 block of South Chicago Street, the Will County Coroner’s office said. The other victim, a 27-year-old man, was shot in the torso and taken to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center in critical condition, Deputy Chief Al Roechner said.

Preliminary autopsy results show that Lockhart died of multiple gunshot wounds, the coroner said.

Aloysius Alexander, 29, of the 300 block of Bluff Street, was charged with murder in connection with the shooting on Saturday afternoon, police said.

According to police, officers responded to the area after a report of shots fired. Roechner said the shooting occurred after a fight broke out at a party.

Alexander was not directly involved in the fight, but was with two of the alleged combatants, and apparently pulled out the gun and began shooting “for no reason,” Roechner said.

Alexander allegedly fled after shooting the two men but was arrested after turning himself in on Saturday afternoon, police said.

Roechner said Alexander called police at around 12:30 p.m. to say he was in Chicago, but was heading to Joliet to turn himself in.

Police reportedly recovered the weapon near Alexander’s apartment in the Evergreen Terrace complex.

Roechner said Alexander was arrested after arriving at the Joliet police department at around 2:30 p.m.

He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, according to jail records. He is due in court Monday.

Roechner said the 27-year-old victim was alert and talking and is expected to recover.

Fourth gun death since Thanksgiving

The Chicago Street incident was the third fatal shooting since last week in Joliet.

Thirty-four-year-old Dante Campbell was pronounced dead early Thanksgiving morning after he was found lying on a sidewalk in the 700 block of Chase Avenue, police said. According to the coroner’s office, Campbell has been shot several times.

On Tuesday, two people died and one person was wounded in an apparent ambush. The three victims were visiting a friend in the 400 block of Strong Avenue when a suspect opened fire as they got out of a vehicle, police said, according to CBS Chicago.

Seventeen-year-old Tariq Purnell and 30-year-old Keon Kelley were killed in the Strong Avenue shooting and an 18-year-old man was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center, CBS Chicago reported.

Roechner said police are still following up on leads in the case, and no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information on the crimes is asked to contact Joliet police at 815-724-3020.