Man charged in deadly Lockport Township shooting will stay in jail

A judge denied the pretrial release of a man charged with a deadly Lockport Township shooting where two victims were apparently not his intended target.

On Wednesday, Will County Judge Dave Carlson blocked the release of Jaron Nabors Jr., 24, of Joliet, after hearing a prosector argue that Nabors poses a threat to the safety of the surviving shooting victim and the community.

That victim became paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the Feb. 8 shooting in the 200 block of Riverview Avenue in Lockport Township. The other victim, James Berry, 52, of Lockport, died from his injuries.

The two victims were shot outside of a residence after Berry returned from a local grocery store with food for a birthday celebration. Three other people were inside of the residence at the time of the shooting but were not injured.

Eight spent 9 mm cartridges were found by police at the scene.

While police officials have not revealed the motive behind the shooting, they confirmed on Wednesday that Berry and the other man were not the intended target.

“It was a definite targeted attack, however they were not the targets of the shooting,” Will County Sheriff Deputy Chief Dan Jungles said.

A court filing from Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Tricia McKenna mentioned another man whom Nabors reportedly had a “non-cordial interaction” with before the shooting.

Nabors and the other man “by accounts of others do not get along and are ‘opps,’” according to McKenna’s petition to deny Nabors’ pretrial release. The owner of the residence where the incident occurred said he heard the man’s “‘opps’ were responsible for the shooting.”

“Opp” is slang for opponent, or enemy.

McKenna said a doorbell camera captured Nabors showing up to the residence about 12:35 p.m. on Feb. 8 after “engaging” with that other man but before the shooting.

Nabors has been charged with Berry’s first-degree murder by knowing his shooting “created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm” to Berry. He’s also been charged with aggravated battery of the second shooting victim.

Nabors had the gun used in the shooting on him when he was apprehended by police, McKenna said. Last year, the gun was reported stolen out of Christiansburg, Virginia.

Lab testing determined the casings from the shooting scene were from the same gun in Nabors’ possession after his arrest, McKenna’s petition said.

Nabors’ attorney, Zack Strupeck, argued on Wednesday that after reviewing the police reports, he saw no indication or reason why Nabors would allegedly shoot up the residence or harm the victims.

“There are no admissions to this part of the offense in any of the interviews I saw,” Strupeck said.