Joliet man pleads guilty to obstructing justice over deadly shootout

A man who was arrested after a deadly shootout on Joliet’s West Side has pleaded guilty to concealing a cellphone from police detectives.

On Wednesday, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Thomas Bahar informed Judge Vincent Cornelius that a plea deal was reached with Javontae Gray, 23, of Joliet.

Since Feb. 8, 2020, Gray has been an inmate in the Will County jail. He was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and obstructing justice. He was arrested following a shootout that resulted in the death of 17-year-old Jeremiah Frazier, a passenger in Gray’s vehicle.

As part of the plea deal, Gray agreed to plead guilty to obstructing justice in exchange for the dismissal of the charge that accused him of firing a gun at a Pontiac Bonneville that was also involved in the incident.

Gray was charged with obstructing justice by knowingly concealed evidence by taking a cellphone from the ground.

Gray was sentenced to serve 50% of a two-year prison sentence but has already spent about 473 days in jail.

Videos obtained by detectives on Feb. 7, 2020, showed a blue Chevy Aveo traveling north on Republic Avenue while a white Pontiac Bonneville traveled south, according to Joliet police Sgt. Aaron Bandy’s testimony to the grand jury.

The area is about a block away from AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.

Before the Chevy stops, a rear passenger jumps out of the car with what appeared to be a gun, he said. The occupants of the Pontiac are seen firing shots at the Chevy, according to Bandy.

“Then the guy that got out of the blue car is shooting back towards the white Pontiac Bonneville,” he said.

Police identified Gray as the driver of the Aveo and Frazier as a passenger who died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Police also identified Rasean Stokes, 19, as the driver of the Bonneville and Jeremiah Gavin, 23, as a passenger in Stokes’ car. Both men were arrested.

Bandy testified that Gray was seen on video taking Frazier to St. Joe’s hospital and he appeared to grab a cellphone out of Frazier’s pocket before leaving. Gray then returned to grab another phone that he may have dropped and he ends up in a struggle with officers at the scene, he said.

“We end up getting him in custody. And after the fact, we realize the phone is gone,” Bandy said.

He also testified that an investigation was ongoing regarding the possible involvement of a third man as the shooter from Gray’s vehicle.

Stokes spent almost a year in jail on charges alleging he and Gavin killed Frazier and that he helped Gavin elude capture by the police.

On Jan. 29, the first-degree murder charges against Stokes were dismissed. He later accepted an offer from prosecutors to plead guilty to misdemeanor attempting to obstructing justice. He was released from jail on Feb. 2 after his attorney, Jeff Tomczak, successfully argued for a lower bond.

Tomczak said Stokes was “definitely overcharged.”

Gavin is the remaining defendant in the case. He faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful possession of a weapon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Gavin is scheduled for a plea hearing on July 13.