Joliet attempted murder defendant back in jail for 3rd time

A man charged with attempted murder in Joliet Township was back in jail for a third time on new charges accusing him of firing a gun at a vehicle during a chase on May 25, in Joliet.

At 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, John Hernandez, 20, of Joliet, was arrested in Joliet on charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated assault and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in connection with the incident. Hernandez was booked into Will County jail on a $150,000 bond.

Hernandez and Angel Vargas, 21, of Joliet, were charged earlier this year with the attempted murder of Hernandez’s father in a June 14 shooting in Joliet Township.

The latest charges stem from the investigation of a reported shooting that occurred near Briggs and Cass Street in Joliet.

At 6:10 p.m. on May 25, officers responded to the area of Miami Street and Elgin Avenue in response to the shooting and determined a Kia Optima had been struck by multiple rounds of gunfire, according to Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English.

A woman was driving the vehicle and a man was a passenger at the time the shooting occurred on Briggs Street at Cass Street, English said.

“It was determined that a male passenger of a vehicle behind the victim’s vehicle began firing a handgun at her vehicle,” English said.

The woman fled in her vehicle by heading west on Cass Street and then north on Collins Street, as the suspect vehicle continued to chase her, English said.

The woman was eventually able to escape from the suspect vehicle near Lockport, English said.

The woman and man in the Kia Optima were not injured by gunfire but the rear of the vehicle had been struck multiple times, English said.

Detectives were able to identity Hernandez as a suspect in the shooting and secured a $150,000 bond warrant for his arrest signed by Judge Victoria Breslan.

Hernandez was first in jail on June 15 following his arrest in connection with the attempted murder case in Joliet Township.

Hernandez was released on July 15 after Judge Carmen Goodman granted his attorney Chuck Bretz’s request to lower his $1 million bond to $100,000.

Hernandez was back in jail again on Aug. 25, after he was charged with battering several people on Aug. 6 Joe’s Beverage Warehouse in Joliet.

He was released from jail on Oct. 1 after Goodman set his new bond at $50,000 on Sept. 22.