Joliet man charged with July murder, armed robbery

A young Joliet man has been charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery of a 19-year-old man earlier this summer in Joliet Township.

On Friday, Landen Brown, 19, was apprehended by authorities in Gary, Indiana, on charges alleging he shot and killed Jayden Valazquez-Garcia, 19, of Plainfield, who was sitting inside of a vehicle on July 24 near Luana Road and Girard Boulevard, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

“Detectives allege that [Brown] shot and killed [Valazquez-Garcia] while in the commission of committing an armed robbery as [Valazquez-Garcia] was sitting in his vehicle near the intersection of Luana Road and Girard Boulevard,” police said.

After Brown was apprehended, he was taken to the sheriff’s office in Lake County, Indiana for questioning and he allegedly made “numerous incriminating statements to detectives regarding his involvement in these crimes,” police said.

Brown will remain in the custody of sheriff’s deputies in Lake County, Indiana until his extradition to Illinois.