2 men charged with attempted murder of one of the men’s fathers in Joliet Township shooting

Joliet Township — A grand jury indicted two men on a charge that accused them of attempting to murder one of their fathers in a June 14 shooting in Joliet Township.

On Thursday, John Hernandez, 20, and Angel Santiago-Vargas, 21, both of Joliet, were indicted on a charge that alleged the two tried to kill the 46-year-old father of Hernandez by firing a gun at him, court records show.

The indictment also alleged that Hernandez violated his father’s May 9 protective order against him by trying to shoot him.

The father’s protective order alleged that his son vandalized his house by spray-painting the word “snitch” on the property and “other gang-related things,” court records show.

Hernandez and Santiago-Vargas also both were charged in the indictment with shooting and injuring a 37-year-old woman with a firearm. She was named as a member of Hernandez’s father’s household in his protective order.

Hernandez was further charged with violating his bond in a 2020 aggravated discharge of a firearm case, which remains pending in court.

The incident that led to the arrest of Hernandez and Santiago-Vargas began about 11 p.m. June 14, when Will County sheriff’s deputies arrived in the 500 block of Miami Street, which is in the eastern portion of Joliet Township.

Hernandez’s father and the 37-year-old woman told deputies that they were sitting on their front porch when two men approached them on foot and fired several rounds at them, according to court records and a statement from the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

Both victims identified Hernandez and Santiago-Vargas as the shooters, police said.

Hernandez’s father was not injured, but the 37-year-old woman suffered gunshot wounds to her right elbow and the top of her right foot, police said.

Deputies found 11 casings from a 9 mm handgun in the road, broken glass to the front door of a residence where the shooting occurred and multiple bullet holes in the home’s siding, police said.

Deputies and several Joliet police officers arrived in the 700 block of Garnsey Avenue, where the two suspects were known to frequent, police said. When officers arrived, they found the pair and chased them on foot, police said. The two men were caught but refused to answer questions, police said.