Joliet man charged with fleeing police during homicide investigation

An investigation into a fatal shooting in Joliet has led to the arrest of one man who was out on bond in a 2021 shooting case and whose family filed a lawsuit over a raid connected to the latter case.

Elian Raya, 20, of Joliet was transported to the Will County jail about 9 p.m. Sunday on felony charge of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude police during the investigation of the homicide of Fernando Contreras, 23, of Joliet.

Raya was allegedly the driver of a Nissan vehicle that police believed was involved in the shooting last Saturday that caused the death of Contreras and injuries to two other men on Krakar Avenue in Joliet.

Raya has been out on bond in a 2021 case where he’s charged with firing a gun at a vehicle occupied by two people and a child. Last year, his family filed a federal lawsuit that accused Joliet police officers and other law enforcement agents of raiding the wrong home for the investigation of the 2021 incident.

The incident that led to Raya’s latest arrest began about 2:40 p.m. Sunday when officers were conducting surveillance of a Nissan vehicle, according to prosecutors’ petition to deny Raya’s jail release.

Officers “believed there was probable cause” for the vehicle’s involvement in the Contreras homicide, prosecutors said.

An officer saw a person wearing a “surgical mask consistent with video evidence from the homicide” enter the driver side of the vehicle on Garnsey Avenue, prosecutors said.

When officers trailing the vehicle activated their emergency lights and sirens, the driver ignored the signals, prosecutors said.

The officers pursued the Nissan in a chase that went from Interstate 80, Illinois Route 59, Jefferson Street and then a street in Shorewood. The Nissan allegedly drove through a yard in Shorewood during the pursuit.

The chase then led to an officer’s vehicle striking the Nissan’s passenger side, causing the vehicle to spin and then rest in a drainage ditch.

Raya was identified by police as a the driver of the vehicle and he had a passenger with him as well.

Raya allegedly told police “he was scared,” prosecutors said.

On Tuesday, Will County Judge Donald DeWilkins granted the prosecutors’ petition to keep Raya in jail. His next court date is June 18.