Teacher's Bail Was Low For Violent Crime: Analysis

JOLIET, IL - On Aug. 8, Washington Junior High School teacher Michael Kazecki appeared over a video monitor from the Will County Jail. That afternoon, in Courtroom 305, prosecutors announced that Kazecki was being charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the Aug. 7 death of his 38-year-old wife, Becky, also a school teacher for District 86. The Will County State's Attorney's Office, led by Jim Long, implored Associate Will County Judge Ben Braun to set a $5 million bail.

Prosecutors suggested Michael Kazecki beat his wife to death over the course of three days. Besides murder, the Joliet school teacher is also charged with aggravated domestic battery and domestic battery. After hearing arguments on bail, Braun rejected the request from the Office of Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow. Instead, the judge opted to go along with the request of private criminal defense Nathaniel Tate, who asked Braun to set bail "at a reasonable amount." The judge agreed, setting bail at $2 million.

Three weeks later, on the evening of Aug. 29, the Joliet teacher charged with first-degree murder walked out of the Will County Adult Detention Facility as a free man, pending future court appearances. Kazecki's family had wired $200,000 to get their loved one out of jail.

As for Braun, he is involved in a high-profile election this November. The Frankfort Republican is running against fellow Will County Associate Judge David Garcia, a Democrat, for one of the open slots on the Circuit Court at the Will County Courthouse.

Since Joliet Patch drew attention to Braun's role in the release of a first-degree murder defendant from custody, a number of people have contacted Patch. Some were lawyers who suggested the $2 million bail was still quite high. But others were livid that Braun would go easy on a criminal defendant accused of beating his wife to death over the course of several days.

Braun's campaign literature declares, "Tough. Fair. Tested."

This week the Joliet Patch researched about a dozen other Will County violent crimes from recent years to give you perspective on how the District 86 teacher's $2 million bail compares to other men from across Will County who were charged with murder or attempted murder.

Only two of the 12 cases below received a bail of $2 million.

One of those two cases involves the Aug. 30 death of Lockport resident Alexander Perez, who was fatally shot in the chest on Joliet's far west side near Plainfield.

In that case, defendant Jacob Megrant's bail was set at $2 million even though the most serious charges were armed violence and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Joliet Police have said they were still in the early stages of their death probe when Megrant got arrested in Bloomington-Normal less than six hours after Perez died. In all likelihood, if charges are upgraded by the Will County State's Attorney's Office, Megrant's bail will likely increase, too.

1. Shanquilla Garvey, age 24, Bel-Air Motel, 1103 Plainfield Road, Joliet
Three separate counts of first-degree murder
Arresting agency: Joliet Police Department

Garvey is accused of throwing her nine-month-old baby girl Cherish Freeman into a dresser, onto the floor and then shaking her child violently inside the motel along Plainfield Road.

Booking date: Dec. 20, 2017
Bail/Bond: No Bail set
Patch coverage: Joliet Baby Dies From Last Week's Motel Beating: Cops

2. Patrick Gleason, age 56, Crest Hill resident, 1600 block of Dearborn Street
Three counts of first-degree murder and seven other felonies including multiple counts of attempted murder.
Arresting agency: Joliet Police Department

Gleason is charged with killing bartender Danny Rios and shooting the bar owner's son, Thomas Izquierdo, in the stomach around 1:15 a.m. inside Izzy's Bar on Theodore Street on March 9. Other patrons in the bar tackled Gleason and held him down until Joliet Police cars arrived. Gleason was initially hospitalized after the incident, before being taken to the Will County Jail.
Booking date: March 11, 2018
Bail/Bond: $10 million/10 percent, still in custody

3. Jeremy Boshears, age 33, of Coal City,
Three counts of first-degree murder and one count of concealing a death/homicide.
Arresting agency: Will County Sheriff's Department

Boshears is accused of fatally shooting 24-year-old New Lenox Township resident Kaitlyn Kearns inside the Joliet Outlaws Clubhouse during the early morning hours of Monday, Nov. 13. Kearns and Boshears were recently dating, and she worked part-time at Woody's, a rough bar on Joliet's industrial east side. Her body was later found about 60 miles away, in Kankakee County.

Booking date: Nov. 18, 2017
Bail/Bond: $10 Million/10 percent, still in custody
Patch coverage: Joliet Outlaws Case Involves Second Man: Lawyer

4. Martell Ollie, 23, 200 block of Nicholson Street, Joliet
Three counts of first-degree murder and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a gun.
Arresting agency: Joliet Police Department

Ollie has been charged with fatally shooting 24-year-old Romeoville resident Donald M. Woods Jr. The May 15 slaying occurred around 4 p.m in Joliet's 200 block of Fourth Avenue near Sherman Street.

Booking date: May 18
Bail/Bond: $5 million/10 percent, still in custody.
Patch Coverage: Ollie Arrested In Romeoville Man's Murder

5. Chris Perez, 28, 1300 block of Elgin Avenue, Joliet
Three counts of first-degree murder
Arresting agency: Will County Sheriff's Department

According to courtroom testimony, Chris Perez, 28, confronted his older brother, Ricardo Perez, 36, inside the family's east-side home in the 1400 block of Sterling Avenue. Prosecutors say Chris Perez raised the gun to Ricardo's head and that Ricardo dared his younger brother to pull the trigger and shoot him. Chris is accused of firing one bullet into his older brother's skull.
Booking date: Dec. 3, 2017
Bail/Bond: Set at $2 million/10 percent, still in custody
Patch coverage: Chris Perez Killed His Brother Ricardo: Sheriff

6. Andy Cerros Jr., now 18, Manuel Escamilla, now 20, and Eric Raya, now 19, all of Joliet.
All three are charged with six counts of murder, three counts of arson and one count of attempted first-degree murder.
Arresting agency: Joliet Police Department

The suspected arson on Joliet's North Center Street broke out shortly before 2 a.m. on June 3, 2017. When Joliet firefighters arrived, the structure was fully engulfed. Firefighters found the bodies of the two women and the baby on the second floor. Regina Rogers, 28, her 11-month-old daughter, Royalty Rogers, and Jacquetta Rogers, 29. The three defendants are accused of firing a flare gun into the upper floor of the home.

Booking date: June 27, 2017
Bail/Bond: All three had their bail set at $10 million/10 percent
Patch coverage: Joliet Teenagers Face Murder Charges After Deadly Fire

7. Alonzo Gadson, 37, 100 block of Edison Road, Joliet
Charged with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of aggravated battery involving a gun and four other felonies.
Arresting agency: Joliet Police Department

Gadson is charged with pulling out a gun and firing bullets into the mouth of one man, shooting a second man in the back and shooting a third man in the knee, and then running off and hiding before several squad cars arrived. The violence occurred in a parking lot of Eden's, in the 900 block of Joliet's Gardner Street. All three victims were in their 30s. Two lived in Crest Hill and one in New Lenox. All three victims survived.

Booking date: June 29, 2018
Bail/Bond: $4 million/10 percent
Patch coverage: Captured: Gadson Faces 3 Attempted Murders

8. Jacob Megrant, now 20, 6800 block of Hadrian Drive, Joliet

Currently faces a 12-count criminal complaint including multiple counts of armed violence, a Class X felony, unlawful possession of controlled substances, unlawful possession of a gun by a street gang member, multiple counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and one count of obstruction of justice.
Arresting agency: Joliet Police Department

Lockport resident Alexander Perez, 23, was inside the Megrant family home on Hadrian Drive and during their drug transaction, Perez asked for a gun from the defendant and that "gun ended up killing him," prosecutors say. Perez was shot in the chest, and his body was taken outside and put in the driveway by other people who were inside the Megrant at the time of the fatal shooting.

Booking date: Aug. 30, 2018
Bail/Bond: $2 million/10 percent Joliet Police say they continue to investigate the crime in hopes of increasing the charges.
Patch coverage: Bail Set For Defendant In Fatal Shooting At Cumberland Subdivision

9. Bahaa Sam, now 52, resident of Tinley Park
Two counts of first-degree murder
Arresting agency: Tinley Park Police Department

Sam is accused of killing his wife back on Dec. 19, 2012 with a weightlifting bar. Sam allegedly beat Nermeen Gamal Sam, 38, with a curling bar as the couple's 4-year-old son watched. Sam's trial at the Will County Courthouse has been delayed numerous times. It's now set for November 5.

Booking date: Dec. 20, 2012
Bail/Bond: Set at $5,050,000/10 percent
Patch coverage: Son To Cops: Daddy Killed My Mommy

THREE RECENTLY CLOSED WILL COUNTY CASES THAT INVOLVED VIOLENCE

1. William "Billy" Krasawski, now 43, resident of Bourbonnais
Two counts of first-degree murder
Arresting agency: Joliet Police Department

Krasawski used a hammer and a pipe wrench to kill Mike Oram, 48, and Oram's girlfriend, Jamie Wills, 43, at a Joliet body shop on Cass Street in March 2016. Krasawski took his case to trial in May and a Will County jury found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. He is now awaiting sentencing.

Booking date: March 11, 2016
Bail/Bond: $5 million/10 percent
Patch coverage: Billy: 'Mysterious Black Guy' Committed Body Shop Murders

2. Arthur Unger, now 53, resident of Plainfield Road, Joliet
Charged with attempted murder and several other felonies.
Arresting agency: Joliet Police Department

On Aug. 29, 2015, Arthur Unger, then 50, was arrested by Joliet Police after he used a knife to slash his 38-year-old wife's throat at their house on Plainfield Road. She survived the attack. Last Friday, Will County Circuit Judge Dave Carlson sentenced Unger to spend 25 years at the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Booking date: Aug. 30, 2015
Bail/Bond: $5 million/10 percent
Patch coverage: Plainfield Road Slasher Gets Long Term

3. Shane Smith, now 38, 1600 block of Black Road, Joliet
Charged with two counts of first-degree murder, hiding/concealing a death and obstructing justice.
Arresting agency: Joliet Police Department

A ruthless ex-con, Shane Smith murdered his own mother and then disposed of Joan Smith's body into a trash bag that he tossed into the dirty waters of the canal, on Oct. 13, 2013. In June 2017, Smith reached a plea agreement that meant prosecutors would not ask for a prison term of more than 35 years. Last December, Smith got a 32-year prison sentence from Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes.

Booking date: Oct. 19, 2013
Bail/Bond: $5 million/10 percent
Patch coverage: Shane Smith Gets Sentenced For Murdering Mom

All mugshots via Will County Sheriff