Joliet man in Mokena shooting case freed from jail

A Joliet man charged with opening fire on two women in Mokena was freed from jail after a judge set his bond at $10,000, court records show.

About 12:30 a.m. Friday, Christopher Haramija, 36, of the 900 block of Longwood Drive was released from the Will County jail after posting 10% of his bond.

Prosecutors charged Haramija with aggravated discharge of a firearm, reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Haramija was accused of shooting at two women in Mokena who declined to help him free his truck after it got stuck in the the mud, Will County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said.

On Thursday, Will County Judge Brian Barrett set Haramija’s bond at $10,000 and ordered him to have no contact with the two alleged victims in the case, court records show.

Will County State’s Attorney spokeswoman Carole Cheney said prosecutors recommended a $500,000 bond. James Stanula, Haramija’s attorney for the bond hearing, said he recommended a $10,000 bond.

After Barrett ruled on the bond, he ordered Haramija to not possess any firearms, ammunition or dangerous weapons as a condition of bond, court records show. Barrett also ordered Haramija to surrender his firearm owner’s identification card within 24 hours of release from jail.

Haramija was ordered not to consume any alcohol or illicit drugs, including marijuana, during the course of the case.

Prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint that Haramija “knowingly discharged a firearm in the direction” of two women and fired the gun in a “reckless manner,” which “endangered the bodily safety” of the two women.

Haramija was also accused in the criminal complaint of carrying a firearm while he had “not been issued a currently valid license under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act.”

While deputies were investigating a report of a shooting in Mokena, they received information that two women in their mid-20s reported they were walking near the creek when they saw a Nissan Xterra stuck in the mud, Hoffmeyer said.

A man later identified as Haramija had approached the women and asked for help with getting his truck out of the mud, Hoffmeyer said.

“The [women] stated that they wouldn’t help him, at which time the male pulled out a firearm and fired [four to six] shots in the girls’ direction and into the nearby tree line,” Hoffmeyer said.