Judge lowers bond for co-defendant in Joliet Easter slaying case

A Will County judge has lowered a $1 million bond by half for one of two defendants in a Joliet Easter slaying case.

On Wednesday, Judge Dave Carlson granted a motion from attorneys for Paola Diaz, 26, of Joliet to have her bond lowered to $500,000, court records show. Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Peter Wilkes objected to the motion.

Diaz and Abraham Bibian, 19, of Joliet were indicted together on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the April 4 fatal shooting of Jwaun Jones.

Diaz remained in the Will County jail as of Thursday afternoon. Bibian’s bond is still at $1 million.

Diaz’s attorney, Paul Napolski, did not respond to calls Thursday. Garth Yore, Diaz’s other attorney, declined to comment.

Ken Grey, chief deputy of the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, said he couldn’t comment on the bond reduction hearing because the case is still pending.

Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During the April 7 bond hearing, Wilkes told Judge Brian Barrett that Jones was killed after he was shot twice in the head while inside of an SUV with three other occupants.

The occupants took Jones to the emergency room at AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, where he died.

An investigation led to police to apprehending Diaz, who said that she was at the scene of the incident with her boyfriend and Bibian, Wilkes said. Diaz identified Bibian as the shooter, he said.

Diaz told police that they traveled to Chicago earlier to purchase a rifle for $1,000 that was used in the shooting, Wilkes said. Police later recovered the rifle from Diaz’s home, he said.

Bibian was later arrested and he gave several versions of what happened before he admitted he was at the scene and that he saw an SUV – which Wilkes said was carrying Jones – cross over the Cass Street bridge “playing loud music” and “disrespecting the memorial of his friend,” Wilkes said.

Wilkes said there was a makeshift memorial for a traffic fatality victim at the intersection of Western Avenue and Bluff Street.

Wilkes did not identify the memorial other than by its location, which is where there is a roadside memorial for Juan Pablo Salazar, 19, who died March 28 after he was involved in a fiery single-vehicle crash.

According to Wilkes, Bibian said the driver of the SUV, in which Jones was a passenger, pulled out a handgun. Bibian said he feared for his life when he retrieved a rifle and fired several shots, Wilkes said. Diaz told police she did not see anyone in the SUV display a gun, he said.

In a court filing, Wilkes said the shooting was captured on surveillance video and Bibian was seen shooting a rifle at the victim’s vehicle.