Suspect In Custody For Joliet Bartender's Death

JOLIET, IL - The Will County Sheriff's Department has a suspect in custody in connection with the murder of 24-year-old Joliet bartender Katie Kearns. The man has been held in the custody of the sheriff's department since Thursday. The sheriff's department told Joliet Patch on Thursday night that it has 48 hours to file criminal charges, otherwise it will have to let the man go.

Thursday was an incredibly busy day for Will County sheriff's department personnel who are working the Kearns murder investigation. Sheriff's Lt. Dan Jungles told Patch that "three to four" search warrants were executed and "numerous more are to come."

Regarding the murder suspect, "Right now, he is in the custody of Will County. He has not been criminally charged. We're working toward that goal," Jungles explained. "We've executed numerous search warrants inside and outside the county since we got the (missing person) report from the Joliet Police Department."

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Kearns vanished without a trace after tending bar at Woody's Bar, in the 1000 block of East Washington Street. Early on, the Will County Sheriff's Department developed leads surrounding the Joliet Outlaws motorcycle club. Kearns had told at least four people she planned to visit the Outlaws clubhouse, which is also up the road on East Washington Street.

At about 10 a.m. Thursday, the Will County Sheriff's Department SWAT team stormed into the Outlaws Clubhouse and raided the joint as part of the Kearns murder probe. But it's hardly the only property that is central to the murder investigation.

A source with knowledge of the raid told Joliet Patch the Will County sheriff's department spent several hours conducting a raid at a house located in the 400 block of East Third Street in Coal City, the community in Will and Grundy Counties along Interstate 55.

The home's resident has lived there for at least two years and is known to be a member of the Outlaws, a source said, because he likes to wear his Outlaws vest in public.

At various times Thursday, several police vehicles from the Will County sheriff's department were parked near the house in Coal City. Will County's CSI team "did remove cardboard boxes and ... paper bags," the source told Joliet Patch. The 32-year-old man who lives at that home in Coal City also has vehicle registrations for a 2014 Dodge Charger, a 2007 Harley Davidson, a 1987 motorhome and a 1998 Chevy C1500 truck.

On Thursday night, Lt. Jungles said he was not ready to comment on the specifics of any of the search warrant raids Will County has conducted over the past 24 hours or so — including the one in Coal City.

Jungles said the murder suspect was interviewed once by sheriff's investigators in connection with Kearns' disappearance. "Since then, he has gotten an attorney, so we are unable to speak him," Jungles said.

The suspect, he said, is not a resident of Will County.

In the days ahead, Jungles said, sheriff's investigators still need to track down more search warrants for other essential items, including bank records, phone records and video surveillance cameras.

Jungles said he is very proud of his colleagues at the Will County sheriff's department for their performance over the past couple of days. "Our detectives did just a fabulous job of following up on leads. My hats off to them because they did a good job of building this case."

Several of the sheriff's investigators, Jungles added, have worked "31 to 34 hours straight with an hour nap or two. We owe it to the people of Will County whenever there is a major case to work it that way. There is only a short window in most cases to build your best case."

He said he is confident authorities have the right person in custody and expects that more information about the case might be disseminated to the press sometime on Friday.

Main image and secondary image of Joliet Outlaws motorcycle club submitted to Patch and used with permission.

Image of Katie Kearns submitted to Patch and used with permission.

Image of Coal City via Google Maps

Image of Woody's Bar via Joliet Patch Editor John Ferak