Joliet man charged with Halloween mass shooting loses motion to suppress evidence

One of four men charged with the gang-related Joliet Township shooting on Halloween in 2021 has lost his bid to suppress his statements to sheriff’s detectives.

On Monday, Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius denied a defense motion to suppress the statements of Thomas Lopez, 24, of Joliet, who’s charged with the first-degree murder Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22, and Sergio Hernandez, 20.

Mathews, Ceballos and Hernandez were killed in a mass shooting at a Halloween party held Oct. 31, 2021 in the backyard of a Joliet Township residence.

At least 10 other people were wounded in a spray of bullets at the party, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

Three other men have been charged with their murders as well. Those include Lopez’s brother, Jeremy Lopez, 23, Joskar Ramos, 21, and David Grijalva, 24, all of Joliet.

Prosecutors claim the shooting was the result of a gang-related feud between Hernandez and Grijalva.

Before Cornelius issued his decision on Monday, he considered video evidence of Thomas Lopez’s time in police custody.

Lopez’s attorney, Patrick Campanelli, said his client’s statements should be suppressed because he invoked his right to an attorney in his interview with Will County sheriff’s detectives.

Campanelli questioned whether his client could give his statements freely and voluntarily since he was sick with COVID-19 at the time, to the point that he was vomiting.

Videos shown in court revealed Lopez spent a lengthy amount time in police custody. He was sleeping on top of chairs in the interview room and at one point he was sleeping underneath a table to shield him from the room’s lights.

Lopez had been provided food, a blanket and a mat to sleep on.

But Lopez never raised any issue about his exposure to COVID-19 until it was time for his interview with detectives, according to Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Shlifka.

Shlifka suggested Lopez was vomiting because he was nervous. Lopez would’ve known the detectives were going to interview him about the mass shooting, Shlifka said.

“He knows it’s about to get real,” Shlifka said.

Campanelli said Lopez pointed out to detectives he had an attorney, who had a phone number. At that point, the law requires detectives to not ask any further questions, he said.

Cornelius ruled Lopez did not invoke his right to an attorney. He said past court decisions are clear that a “mere inquiry” of a lawyer is not an invocation for a lawyer.

Cornelius also found Lopez gave his statements freely and voluntarily to sheriff’s detectives and he was well-treated while in police custody.

He said Lopez appeared “less than alarmed” about his alleged exposure to COVID-19.

Lopez is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 19.

Jeremy Lopez and Ramos have a pretrial hearing set for Sept. 15. Grijalva is due back in court on Sept. 24.