Violent Joliet Man 'Vowed To Put Her And Her Brother In A Body Bag If He Wanted To': Prosecutors

JOLIET, IL — For the fourth time since 2021, 29-year-old Justin Salas of Joliet will remain in the Will County Jail. This week, Will County Judge Chrystel Gavlin utilized the Illinois SAFE-T-Act to keep Salas detained under the dangerousness standard. So far in 2026, since Gavlin has taken over Courtroom 202 from Judge Derek Ewanic, she has ordered more defendants accused of violent crimes to be detained under the SAFE-T-Act.

This week, Joliet police arrested Salas, who comes from the 200 block of First Avenue. He is charged with aggravated domestic battery and three crimes of domestic battery. The arrest took place in the 300 block of Comstock Street, which is just up the hill from the McDonough Street Bridge, on the city's near west side.

Around 6:25 a.m. on Monday, Joliet police responded to the domestic. The caller indicated his sister and her boyfriend were arguing. The 29-year-old victim told officers that Salas choked her and fled the scene. She indicated they got into a heated argument in her bedroom after Salas accused her of cheating on him. The woman indicated that her two children, ages 2 and 11 months, were in the bedroom when this happened.

According to Will County prosecutors, Salas grabbed the woman from behind and placed his arm around her throat and choked her. The victim indicated that Salas tightened his grip around her neck several times, causing her to struggle to breathe. Salas then pushed her to the bed, yelled at her, spitting at her face, as he made threats "to put her and her brother in a body bag if he wanted to," prosecutors outlined in their SAFE-T-Act filing.

Prosecutors noted that the victim yelled for her brother to call 911 and that's when Salas fled the apartment house. Joliet police responded to the address, conducted the interviews and left. Then, at 8:15 a.m., the victim called 911 and alerted Joliet police that Salas had returned to her apartment. Officers responded and had him arrested.

After the arrest, Salas told Joliet police he got into an argument with the woman because he believes she is hiding things from him on her cell phone. He denied choking her or spitting on her and maintained that nothing physical happened, court documents reflect.

Prosecutors pointed out that "Salas admitted he knows he is supposed to stay away from her" because he was on pretrial release for a 2025 domestic battery charge against the same woman in Will County. In addition, Salas was sentenced for a 2024 domestic battery case involving the same victim. A 2021 domestic battery arrest in Will County involving a different victim was not charged out by prosecutors. He was sentenced in Will County for carrying/possessing a gun in public back in 2015.

"The defendant poses a threat to the victim, their minor children, the victim's brother and the community in general," Will County prosecutors outlined in their successful SAFE-T-Act petition.