Joliet man who obstructed justice in 2017 triple murder case briefly jailed

A Joliet man convicted of concealing evidence in a 2017 flare-gun attack incident that killed two women and a baby was briefly jailed on a charge alleging that he trespassed at the courthouse.

About 12:10 p.m. Thursday, Eric Raya, 26, was taken to the Will County jail on a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass to the courthouse.

The charge itself does not make Raya eligible for detention under the SAFE-T Act. Nevertheless, Will County Judge Fred Harvey signed a warrant for Raya’s arrest that ordered him to be held in jail until he had a “detention or conditions of release hearing.”

Will County Judge Marzell Richardson granted a defense motion Thursday to quash the warrant. Raya was then released from jail.

In 2017, Raya was one of three defendants charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated arson, residential arson and arson in connection with a deadly flare-gun attack in Joliet.

In 2019, prosecutors agreed to drop a 10-count indictment against Raya in exchange for his testimony against his co-defendants in the case and if he agreed to plead guilty to obstructing justice by concealing a flare gun from police.

Raya is the brother of Elian Raya, 21, of Joliet, who’s been charged with the June 1 first-degree murder of Fernando Contreras, 23. Contreras was killed in a shooting in Joliet.

The trespassing charge against Raya stemmed from the investigation of a disturbance that was reported at 10 a.m. Oct. 10 outside Will County Judge Dan Rippy’s courtroom.

Deputies separated seven people who were “throwing verbal threats while exiting the courtroom,” Will County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said.

Deputies spoke with several people, including Raya, and the deputies were told of a group of four people who initiated the disturbance, Hoffmeyer said. One person among that group “had his phone and was videotaping,” she said.

Raya approached that group in an “aggressive manner” and started a verbal confrontation with them, Hoffmeyer said.

“Raya was told several times to stop while deputies then had to separate the [four people], escorting them outside while they continued to argue, use profanities, display gang signs and refused to leave the courthouse property,” Hoffmeyer said. “Later in the morning, deputies were notified that a video of the incident had been located on a social media site.”

Hoffmeyer said additional arrests are expected.