Rios Family Sues Murder Defendant Patrick Gleason

JOLIET, IL — A law firm from Morris has filed a wrongful death against Patrick Gleason, the Crest Hill man accused of entering Izzy's Bar on Theodore Street, approaching bartender Danny Rios and fatally shooting him in the head. The bar owner's son was also shot in the abdomen, but he survived and has made a miraculous recovery.

Rios died instantly after being shot at point-blank range. Gleason, 56, was taken down by several of the customers inside Izzy's, and he is incarcerated in the Will County Jail where he's being held on a $10 million bail. Gleason faces numerous counts of murder and attempted murder, and lawyers have told Joliet Patch that the entire shooting was captured on the bar's video surveillance system and there is no doubt that Gleason is the killer.

The new wrongful death lawsuit was filed at the Will County Courthouse by plaintiff Alec Pena-Rios as independent administrator of the estate of Daniel Rios III.

According to the lawsuit filed by Cortina, Mueller & Frobish, Danny Rios was a bartender at Izzy's, 507 Theodore St., Joliet, and Gleason was a patron at Izzy's.

"On March 9, 2018, at or about 1:15 a.m., the deceased, Daniel Rios III, was an employee at Izzy's when the defendant intentionally shot Daniel Rios III with a firearm," the filing states, later explaining to the court that "the next of kin of the decedent have suffered great losses of a personal and pecuniary nature, including the loss of companionship and society of the decedent, including damages for grief, sorrow and mental suffering."

Their wrongful death lawsuit seeks a judgment against Gleason for more than $50,000.

Last April, the Joliet law firm of Rathbun, Cservenyak and Kozol also filed a lawsuit against Gleason, on behalf of Thomas Izquierdo, the bar owner's son, who was shot in the stomach. That lawsuit remains pending at the Will County Courthouse.

Gleason remains in jail and his case is unlikely to go to trial this year.

Related:

• GoFundMe For Slain Bartender Gets Huge Response
• 'Hero' Sues Izzy's Murder Defendant