Streator homicide investigation ongoing

A man with ties to La Salle and Cook counties was found dead Tuesday morning and his death is being treated as a homicide by gunfire.

The La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed Tuesday a homicide investigation was launched in the pre-dawn hours in Streator. The deceased has been identified as 25-year-old Joshua N. Salters. He was found at about 5:30 a.m. near the intersection of North Sterling Street and Laura Avenue, said Police Chief John Franklin. The homicide may have occurred between midnight and 12:45 a.m., Franklin said. Residents in the neighborhood said they may have heard gunfire during that time, Franklin said.

The Streator Police Department is being assisted by the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigations.

Anyone with information regarding Tuesday’s investigation should call the Streator Police Department at 815-672-3111.

A review of La Salle County Circuit Court records show Salters with a last-known address of Ottawa, though he also has been listed as a resident of Markham, south of Chicago.

The homicide is the sixth in La Salle County since May 6, including a case being charged as an involuntary manslaughter. Four of them have occurred in Streator, one in Ottawa and one in La Salle.