Shooter In 'Joliet Joust' Slaying Sentenced To Prison

Joliet IL

14 July, 2021

2:01 PM

Description

JOLIET, IL —Joliet resident Jeremiah Gavin has been sentenced to 10 years at the Illinois Department of Corrections for firing his loaded gun at an oncoming car along Joliet's Republic Avenue more than a year ago. The homicide victim, 17-year-old Joliet passenger Jeremiah Frazier, was shot in the head and died of his injuries two days later. Some lawyers at the Will County Courthouse refer to the deadly shootout as the "Joliet Joust" case. Two cars traveling toward each other opened fire around noon on Feb. 7, 2020, along Republic Avenue. The shooting happened within a couple blocks of the AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center. Joliet police arrested Gavin, then 22, a week after the homicide. The Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow charged Gavin with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and being a convicted felon who was using a gun. Bail for Gavin was set at $2 million, and he has remained inside the Will County Jail since the morning hours of Feb. 15, 2020. This week, Assistant Will County State's Attorney Deborah Mills worked out a plea bargain with Gavin, who was represented by Joliet criminal defense attorney Steven Haney. Gavin pleaded guilty to the felony offense of unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. Gavin's pending charges, including first-degree murder, were dropped as part of the plea. Prosecutors indicated that Gavin was a passenger inside a Pontiac driven by Joliet teenager Rasean Stokes and their vehicle was traveling southbound on Republic Avenue. At the time, Gavin had a gun and Gavin was a convicted felon. That afternoon, Gavin fired his gun toward the Chevy Aveo, driven by Javontae Gray, heading southbound on Republic Avenue as someone inside Gray's Chevy Aveo shot back toward Gavin and the Pontiac. "Jeremiah Frazier was the front seat passenger in the Aveo and died as a result of a gunshot wound of the head," Mills informed the judge. The 23-year-old Gavin's criminal record includes past convictions for obstructing a police officer, possession of a handgun as a 15-year-old juvenile, resisting arrest in 2019 and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon from 2018 that resulted in a one-year sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections. According to Tuesday's sentencing records, Gavin will get credit for 515 days of time he already served inside the Will County Jail. Jeremiah Gavin was represented by Joliet criminal defense lawyer Steven Haney. Mugshot via Will County Jail