Joliet man found guilty in robbery and battery case at casino

Joliet — Joliet man Marquel Jimerson was found guilty of robbery, intimidation of a witness, and domestic battery on Friday.

Jimerson, 29, was found guilty of five felony counts following a jury trial, according to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The charges stemmed from an incident on Feb. 6, 2024, during which Jimerson’s ex-girlfriend reported to police that he had beaten her while she was staying at Harrah’s Casino in Joliet.

According to a statement from the state’s attorney’s office, testimony during the trial established that as the victim left her hotel room, she saw Jimerson coming down the hallway and he threatened to kill her.

According to the victim’s testimony, Jimerson forced his way into her room, pushed her to the ground and punched her repeatedly, before going through her purse and taking her personal identification documents and cash, the release from the state’s attorney’s office said.

Another witness who was in the room also testified that Jimerson threatened to kill them if they told police what had happened. According to the state’s attorney’s office, the witness fled the room and contacted hotel security who contacted then Joliet police.

Jimerson is eligible for an extended prison sentence of three to 14 years on the robbery charge, a mandatory prison sentence of two to 10 years for the intimidation charge, and one to six years for the domestic battery counts. Judge Art Smigielski has scheduled sentencing and post-trial motions for Oct. 22.

In the statement announcing the conviction, State’s Attorney James Glasgow thanked Assistant State’s Attorneys Sarah West, Matt Dilday, and Art Guerra, Detective Stephen Boe of the Joliet Police Department, Victim Witness Advocate Yesenia Almazan, and IT Specialist Braulio Guzman for “their tireless effort to ensure this successful prosecution.”