Will Latin King's Death Mean More Halloween Party Murder Charges?

JOLIET, IL — Last weekend's death of Joliet Latin King street gang member Sergio Hernandez at the one-year anniversary of the Joliet Township Halloween party mass shooting at 1018 East Jackson Street will likely mean an upgrade to more murder charges for Joliet Vice Lords Joskar Ramos and brothers Thomas and Jeremy Lopez, according to one of the Will County Sheriff Department's top officials.

Chief deputy sheriff Dan Jungles told Joliet Patch on Wednesday it will probably take at least six more weeks before any upgrade of criminal charges would occur. Jungles said it typically takes up to six weeks to receive all the relevant medical reports from the coroner's office.

As far as amending the current charges against Ramos and the Lopez brothers, "we really can't do that now until we know the official cause of death," Jungles explained. "Once we have the coroner's reports from DuPage County, we can have those conversations with the Will County State's Attorney's Office."

Jungles said that history has shown it is likely that more first-degree murder charges will be forthcoming for the three co-defendants already charged with committing two homicides at the Halloween party. Hernandez is now the third shooting victim to die from the party.

Jungles said he's been involved in numerous criminal investigations during his law enforcement career in which someone shot died several weeks or months later, prompting Will County's prosecutors to increase the charges against the accused.

"There's no doubt that the shooting at the Halloween party was a life-altering event for him," Jungles said of Hernandez.

In the case of Hernandez, the Joliet gang member remained in grave condition ever since he was shot several times shortly after midnight on Oct. 31, 2021. Police believe he was the likely target of the Halloween party shooting.

A Joliet resident from the 300 block of West Marion Street, Hernandez was free on bond during the previous seven months after Joliet police arrested him for shooting at another motorist on Joliet's east side during broad daylight in February 2021.

Jungles said he learned that Hernandez died last weekend at a rehabilitation care facility in suburban DuPage County. He was 20.

When Hernandez's enemies from the Vice Lords saw him at the backyard Halloween party on Joliet's east side, they opened fire on him, according to police. Several innocent victims at the party, people who had no ties or affiliation with either Joliet street gang, were also wounded or slain, including homicide victims Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22 years old.

Hernandez was the only surviving shooting victim in the worst condition in the aftermath of the incident, according to Jungles. About a dozen people suffered gunshot wounds at the party, which was attended by more than 200 people.

Back in the spring, Hernandez's criminal defense lawyer, Chuck Bretz, told Joliet Patch that his client had remained in a hospital bed for more than five months.

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

Even though Hernandez was shot multiple times and left without the ability to walk ever again, he remained unwilling to help the Will County Sheriff's detectives in their effort to build a case against Ramos and the Lopez brothers, according to Jungles.

Jungles said that his agency's detectives visited Hernandez while he remained hospitalized as part of their effort to determine all the facts and key details for why the Halloween party shooting happened.

Jungles has previously told Joliet Patch that Hernandez was the intended target of the current first-degree murder defendants Ramos, Thomas Lopez and Jeremy Lopez.

If Hernandez was a no-show at the Halloween party, there's a good chance the mass shootings never would have happened, according to authorities.

"It was an ongoing beef between the two street gangs," Jungles remarked last weekend.

Related Patch coverage:

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

Target Of Halloween Party Shooting Dies 1 Year Later

Vice Lords Targeted Latin King In Halloween Party Shooting: Sheriff