No charges filed yet against Joliet teen in connection with Halloween mass shooting

It remains unclear what role an arrested teen possibly played in the mass shooting at a Halloween party in Joliet Township that left two people dead.

Since Nov. 5, Joskar Ramos, 18, has been jailed on a $1 million bond after he was charged with offenses stemming from his Nov. 3 arrest at his Gael Drive apartment in Joliet.

But prosecutors and police would not say as of Wednesday whether Ramos will be charged with killing either Holly Mathews, 22, or Jonathan Ceballos, 22, or if he’s even suspected of killing them.

Mathews and Ceballos were shot to death at the Halloween party held at 1018 E. Jackson St. Numerous other people were injured as well and three victims remain hospitalized this week, Will County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said.

Sheriff officials have suspected two people were responsible for the shooting.

Will County State’s Attorney spokeswoman Carole Cheney said the “matter remains under review and investigation” when asked why murder or homicide-related charges have not been filed against Ramos.

Will County sheriff officials called Ramos the prime suspect in the incident. However, Will County Deputy Chief Dan Jungles would not explain why on Wednesday. He said he would not make further comments about the investigation of the shooting “in order to maintain the integrity of the case.”

He said further updates on the case will be provided through news releases.

“It is going to take some time due to the abnormally large potential witness pool that has to be interviewed,” Jungles said.

Investigators have spoken to about 120 of the nearly 200 people who attended the party, Hoffmeyer said.

Ramos has been charged with possession of a firearm without a requisite firearm owner’s identification card, obstructing justice and possession of firearm ammunition without a requisite FOID card.

Prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint that Ramos possessed a Glock .40-caliber firearm and 9 mm ammunition on Nov. 3 without a valid FOID card. Ramos was also accused of intending to obstruct the prosecution of himself by concealing the Glock.

Based on those charges, Will County Judge Daniel Rippy signed a Nov. 5 warrant for Ramos’ arrest that carried a $1 million bond. That amount has usually been set in the past for defendants charged with high felony offenses such as murder and sexual assault.

When asked about why the bond was set at $1 million, Cheney would only say that a judge has discretion in evaluating the “totality of the circumstances” and that she “can’t put words in a judge’s mouth.”

Calls left for Rippy at the Will County chief judge’s office were not immediately returned on Wednesday.

A call to Ramos’ attorney, Shenonda Tisdale of the Will County Public Defender’s Office, was also not returned.

A man at Ramos’ Gael Drive apartment who would only identify himself as Ramos’ cousin said on Tuesday that he didn’t think Ramos killed Mathews and Ceballos.

“They’re still other people and it was multiple people and it was not just one person,” he said.

In a news release, sheriff officials said detectives developed information regarding Ramos through multiple interviews, videos and tips.

Ramos had an active warrant on unrelated weapon offenses from when he was a juvenile, police said. A search warrant for Ramos’ residence was obtained Nov. 3 because of that warrant.

Ramos was questioned by police about his involvement with the shooting, but he exercised his right to an attorney, police said.

Detectives and prosecutors are actively working “in hopes of bringing additional charges,” police said.