Man gets 32 years in 2021 fatal Gurnee shooting

WAUKEGAN – A Lake County judge on Oct. 18 sentenced a man to 32 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the 2021 Gurnee fatal shooting of a man.

Joey Gonzalez, 27, was convicted June 14 of second-degree murder, a Class 1 felony; aggravated battery with a firearm, a Class X felony; three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony; and one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, a Class 2 felony, according to a news release from the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.

After the sentencing, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said, “Chief of the Criminal Division Jeff Facklam and Principal Assistant State’s Attorney Ron Park won a tough case in which the offender claimed self-defense. The jury rejected this argument due to our office’s work and this offender will be away from the community for decades. Our thoughts are with the family of the victim and we will support them for as long as they need.”

In November 2021, Gurnee police officers and the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force responded to a report of shots fired at the Gurnee Mills parking lot. When officers arrived, they found Jonathan Denicolas, 26, being aided by a good Samaritan. Denicolas was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

At the sentencing hearing, judge D. Christopher Lombardo considered evidence in aggravation through two state witnesses who testified to two separate gun incidents the defendant was involved in after the shooting and a victim-impact statement written by the mother of the victim.

In the statement that was read in open court, his mother described Denicolas as being a playful, loving young man and said Gonzalez took a big piece of her and her family’s lives when he ended Denicolas’ life.

Facklam and Park argued that Gonzalez’s actions on Nov. 21, 2021, and his lengthy criminal history have demonstrated how much of a danger he is to the community. Prosecutors pointed out that Gonzalez had no regard for human life when he opened fire in the parking lot on what was probably the busiest shopping weekend of the year, according to the release.

Prosecutors further noted that Gonzalez should have especially known the dangers of a firearm since in March 2017 he was charged with involuntary manslaughter, two counts of aggravated unlawful use of weapon and two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon after he accidently shot and killed his friend. Gonzalez pleaded guilty in December 2017 to one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of residential burglary (the residential burglary was a separate, unrelated incident) and was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison to be served at 50%. Rinehart, Facklam and Park all started working in the state’s attorney’s office after 2020.

Laws allowed Lombardo to sentence Gonzalez to a range of 10 to 45 years in prison to be served at 85%.

Before the trial, Gonzalez was being held in the Lake County jail on a $10 million bond. The cash bond was set by a judge in 2022 before the effective date of bail reform that now prevents individuals charged with second-degree murder and firearm offenses from posting bond if a judge so decides at the beginning of the case.

After the guilty verdict, Lombardo revoked Gonzalez’s ability to post bond. Gonzalez received 792 days credit for time served.