Target Of Halloween Party Shooting Dies 1 Year Later

JOLIET, IL —On the same weekend as the one-year anniversary of Joliet's worst mass shooting in recent memory, Sergio Hernandez, the Joliet Latin King street gang member who was left paralyzed at the backyard party on East Jackson Street in Joliet Township, died over the weekend. He was 20 years old.

Joliet Patch previously reported that Hernandez was the shooting target of rival Vice Lord gang members at the Halloween party, according to Will County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dan Jungles.

On Monday morning, downtown Joliet private practice attorney Chuck Bretz of Bretz, Flynn & Associates confirmed to Joliet Patch that he was made aware of his client's death over the weekend. Hernandez died in DuPage County.

"Just heard," Bretz replied to Joliet Patch's editor. "We are very saddened to hear of his passing, and our prayers are with his family and loved ones."

Last October, Hernandez was free after posting bond back in March 2021 in connection with felony gun charges in a February 2021 following a daytime drive-by shooting.

On Oct. 30, 2021, a Saturday night, Hernandez attended the backyard Halloween party at 1018 East Jackson St., a gathering that grew out of control and attracted a crowd of more than 200 people.

Shortly after midnight, several Vice Lords opened fire upon Hernandez, according to Will County Sheriff's officials, and Hernandez suffered numerous gunshot wounds.

Hernandez was left paralyzed in the shooting. The backyard house party shootings left 10 people injured, and two homicide victims died at the scene, 22-year-olds Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos.

Back in April, Bretz told Joliet Patch that he didn't see much point for the Will County State's Attorney's Office to continue with its efforts to prosecute Hernandez for the Joliet drive-by shooting from February 2021.

As of this April, Hernandez had remained in a hospital bed for more than five months.

"He's in bad shape," Bretz told Patch at the time. "He's a quadriplegic, and he depends on a ventilator to breathe."

In an article published this past weekend — hours before the Latin King gang member's death — Joliet Patch reported how "it's entirely possible that the Halloween party shootings would not have happened if not for the presence of Joliet teenager Sergio Hernandez."

"He was the intended target," Jungles told Joliet Patch's editor on Saturday.

Hernandez was a member of the Latin Kings street gang while the other three young men now charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, Joskar Ramos and the Lopez brothers, Thomas and Jeremy, were all Vice Lords, according to Jungles.

"It was an ongoing beef between the two street gangs," Jungles remarked on Saturday.

Related Patch coverage:

Paralyzed At Halloween Party: Joliet Teen Still Faces 2021 Gun Charge

Vice Lords Targeted Latin King In Halloween Party Shooting: Sheriff