Man Jailed On Murder Charge Suing Witness, Claims He Was Defamed

A man jailed for allegedly gunning down his uncle more than five years ago sued a witness for the prosecution, claiming the Park Forest man defamed him and conspired with police on a frame job.

Jason Gonzalez, 28, is hoping for a $1 million judgment against certified arborist Jeffrey Marrs.

Gonzalez accused Marrs, 46, of perjuring himself and changing his story about what he saw the day Lance Goebel was murdered in September 2009.

In his lawsuit, Gonzalez said “Marrs indicated to law enforcement officers during the initial investigation that he observed an individual in the front yard of the victim’s home at or about the time of the alleged murder but could not identify that individual.”

But just three months ago, “Marrs and an unknown number of Will County Sheriff’s Police did conspire to provide false identification testimony” against Gonzalez, the lawsuit said, and he “did provide a statement … that he positively identified the individual he observed five years ago previously as Gonzalez.”

“At all times relevant, both Marrs and the Will County Sheriff’s Police knew this statement to be false,” the suit said.

Contacted by phone Wednesday, Marrs said he was unaware of the lawsuit and was not particularly concerned about it.

“I didn’t know anything about it,” he said. “I’m not too worried about it because I didn’t do anything.”

Gonzalez shot Goebel numerous times with a 9-mm handgun, then stole $1,000 and his uncle’s Chevy HHR, police said. The vehicle was later located about a mile from Goebel’s New Lenox Township residence.

Goebel’s wife found her husband dead in the home. Several days later, the cops caught Gonzalez sleeping in his mother’s 1997 Saturn, which he reportedly borrowed from her shortly before the killing. Gonzalez was parked behind a bush on Larkin Avenue in Joliet, police said.

Gonzalez recently filed court papers claiming that the Will County jail is too cold and asking for him to be sent to a different, warmer jail. Gonzalez’s complaints fell on deaf ears.

Go take a look at our Facebook page.

And make sure you read these fantastic stories too:

• Homeless Man With Sawed-Off Shotgun Sticks Up 2 Pot Dealers In Orland Park: Cops
• Four Frankfort Men Jailed After Alleged Tinley Park Road Rage Attack
• Tinley Park Woman’s Shoes Stolen Out of Hall