Former Joliet Murder Defendant Faces New Shooting Charges

Joliet IL

16 June, 2021

2:16 PM

Description

JOLIET, IL — Deputies at the Will County Sheriff's Office arrested former Joliet murder defendant Jesus E. Zambrano on Wednesday morning in connection with new criminal charges of aggravated battery involving the discharge of a gun. Zambrano, now 31, was booked into county custody around 10:45 a.m. Zambrano lives in the 1000 block of Joliet's North Raynor Avenue. The Joliet resident was taken into custody on a bench warrant, and his bail was set at $500,000. The shooting happened on Ma7 5, jail records show. Last month, Joliet Patch reported that a 31-year-old Joliet man remained hospitalized in critical condition after being shot several times around 8 p.m. on May 7 near North Raynor Avenue and Hutchins Street in the city of Joliet. Joliet Fire Department paramedics found the victim lying in the street. The Joliet Fire Department's ambulance rushed the shooting victim to AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center. A few days after the shooting, Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English told Patch that the non-fatal shooting remained a very active investigation, and detectives were not releasing details about the crime at this stage. Back in August 2019, a Will County jury found Jesus Zambrano not guilty of first-degree murder in the May 22, 2009, west side shooting death of Robert Gooch, 36. The Joliet homicide victim was shot in the head inside a third-floor apartment at the Larkin Village apartment complex during an apparent lover's triangle. Back in 2013, a different Will County jury found Zambrano guilty of murder, and he drew a 45-year prison term at the time. Then in 2016, the Illinois Court of Appeals overturned Zambrano's conviction and remanded his murder case back to Will County Circuit Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak for a retrial. Zambrano, co-defendant, Pedro Sanchez, and a host of others who were with them in their car that pulled up to the Lois Place apartment parking lot more than 10 years ago. Sanchez was convicted of first-degree murder, and he is serving a 61-year prison term in the case.