Joliet man who beat murder case caught with loaded Glock handgun, police say

A man who was once charged with murder in a deadly 2020 shooting in Joliet only to plead guilty to a misdemeanor now faces a felony charge of unlawfully possessing a loaded gun on Interstate 80.

Rasean Stokes, 21, of Joliet, was charged on Aug. 17 with two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon following his arrest the day before by Will County sheriff’s deputies.

Stokes and Jeremiah Gavin, 24, of Crest Hill, were once both charged with the Feb. 7, 2020 murder of Jeremiah Frazier, 17, who died from a gunshot wound to the head in a shootout that occurred about a block away from Ascension Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.

However, prosecutors’ case against both men collapsed the following year.

Will County Chief Judge Dan Kennedy dismissed the murder charge against Stokes, who ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor attempted obstruction of justice. Prosecutors dropped the murder charge against Gavin, who pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon by felon.

Stokes was back in jail on Aug. 16, when deputies found him with a loaded Glock 22 .40-caliber handgun underneath his driver’s seat during a traffic stop, according to Will County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer.

The deputies had been driving west on I-80 when they saw Stokes’ vehicle switching lanes numerous times without a turn signal and conducted the stop, Hoffmeyer said.

Prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint that Stokes carried the Glock without a valid license to do so under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.

Gavin is still serving a 10-year prison sentence on the unlawful possession of a weapon by felon conviction. He’s scheduled for parole on Aug. 12, 2024.

In the Feb. 7, 2020, incident, Stokes was the driver and Gavin the passenger of a Pontiac Bonneville that was met by a Chevrolet Aveo on Republic Avenue in Joliet, according to prosecutors.

Javontae Gray, 24, of Joliet, was the driver of the Chevrolet Aveo and Frazier was his passenger.

Gavin fired a gun at the Chevrolet Aveo and an unidentified person in that vehicle fired in the direction of the Pontiac Bonneville, prosecutors said.

Gray had also been arrested, and he pleaded guilty to obstructing justice in exchange for dismissal of a charge accusing him of firing a gun at the Pontiac.

In an unrelated case, Gray pleaded guilty on May 18 to unlawful gun possession and sentenced to an almost five-year prison sentence. He’s slated for parole on Sept. 12, 2023.