Attorney seeks to dismiss Joliet Outlaws murder case

An attorney for a Coal City man charged with killing a woman at the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse is seeking to have the indictment dismissed on double jeopardy grounds after he was granted a new trial.

On Feb. 21, attorney Chuck Bretz filed a motion to dismiss the four-count indictment against Jeremy Boshears, 38, who was given a new trial by Will County Judge Dave Carlson on Jan. 24.

Because of that decision, Boshears may go to trial once again on charges of first-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death.

In 2022, a jury convicted Boshears of the Nov. 13, 2017, first-degree murder of Katie Kearns, 24, a woman he was having an affair with, at the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse. The jury also convicted Boshears of concealing Kearns’ death from authorities by hiding her body inside a barn in Kankakee County.

Carlson had granted a new trial for Boshears based on what he saw as the “cumulative effect” of the errors that were committed by prosecutors during the 2022 trial.

Bretz’s motion argued that the seasoned prosecutors committed “various acts of misconduct” during the trial.

Bretz contended that the prosecutors intend to “subvert the protections afforded by the double jeopardy clause of the [Fifth Amendment] of the U.S. Constitution.”

Because of that, Bretz argued for the dismissal of the indictment on double jeopardy grounds.

The double jeopardy clause prohibits people from being prosecuted twice for the same offense.

Prosecutors had objected to Boshears receiving a new trial. They argued that Boshears received a fair trial, and the evidence they presented supported a finding of guilty on charges against him.

Boshears was due back in court Wednesday.