Joliet man pleads guilty to aggravated arson in 2017 flare gun attack case

A tragic case involving a deadly house fire in 2017 that claimed the lives of two women and a baby came to a close on Thursday with the last defendant pleading guilty to aggravated arson as part of a plea deal that included the dismissal of first-degree murder charges.

On July 19, 2017, Manuel Escamilla, Andy Cerros and Eric Raya, were in their late teens when they were indicted on 10 felony charges – including six charges of first-degree murder – in connection with an alleged flare gun attack on June 3, 2017, at a residence at 16 N. Center St., Joliet.

The blaze killed Regina Rogers, 28, her baby, Royalty Rogers, and Jacquetta Rogers, 29. Rakeem Venson, whom prosecutors said was the target of the alleged attack, managed to escape from the fire unharmed.

Cerros, 23, has been the only defendant among the original three to plead guilty to the first-degree murder of the three women and infant by firing a flare gun.

Raya, 24, pleaded guilty in 2019 to obstruction of justice in the case and aggravated battery in an unrelated case. All other charges against him were dropped.

On Thursday, Escamilla, 23, who was supposed to go to trial on Feb. 7, ended up pleading guilty to aggravated arson.

Escamilla’s attorney, Chuck Bretz, said Escamilla never fired the flare gun but under the state’s theory of accountability, he’s being held accountable for the actions of Cerros. Bretz said Escamilla had driven the vehicle occupied by Cerros, who fired the flare gun at the time of the incident.

Bretz said Escamilla had no intention to hurt or kill anyone. He said he believed prosecutors made the right call dismissing the more serious charges.

“It’s certainly not as if they were giving him any sort of pass. We negotiated it and he pled guilty to a very, very significant offense,” Bretz said.

Following Escamilla’s guilty plea, Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius sentenced him to serve 85% of a 18-year prison sentence. Cornelius credited Escamilla with 2,017 days – or about five-and-half years – served in jail. That puts Escamilla’s actual prison time at close to about 10 years.

Cerros, who was 17 at the time of deadly house fire, is serving a 32-year prison sentence. His projected parole date is in 2049, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Raya’s 2019 plea deal had also included his promise to provide testimony in the cases against Escamilla and Cerros.

Raya landed in trouble again in 2019 after he was arrested in connection with a bar fight in Summit, which is in Cook County.

On Jan. 3, Raya was sentenced to two years in prison after a Cook County judge found him guilty of committing aggravated battery and mob action in that incident, court records show.

In anticipation of trial, prosecutors had sought over the years to introduce evidence in the case they alleged showed there was a gang feud between Escamilla and Venson, which they considered the motive behind the 2017 arson.

Cerros’ attorney, Blake Stone, disputed Cerros was a gang member or had intention to kill Venson. Bretz also disputed that Escamilla was a gang member.

“While certainly [Escamilla] made some very tragic, poor judgment in his young life, he was not actually part of a criminal organization,” Bretz said.