Joliet Outlaws' Culture Will Be Focus Of Jeremy Boshears' Trial

Joliet IL

21 January, 2022

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JOLIET, IL — Joliet criminal defense attorney Chuck Bretz plans to call an expert witness to testify about the Joliet Outlaws Motorcycle Club and its culture during the upcoming first-degree murder trial of his client, Jeremy Boshears. The trial is set to get underway Jan. 31 in Courtroom 405 of Will County Judge Dave Carlson. Boshears has remained in the Will County Jail since Nov. 18, 2017 and his bail is $10 million. The Will County Sheriff's Office believes Boshears fatally shot bartender Katie Kearns, 24, inside the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse during the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2017. A few days after her disappearance, Kearns' body was found in the back of her Jeep Wrangler, wrapped in a tarp and a mattress, about 60 miles from Joliet in a rural part of Kankakee County. She died from a gunshot wound to the head. Bretz has insisted that Boshears did not shoot Kearns. Another forensic expert hired by Bretz, retired Oak Park Police Department detective, Arthur Borchers, has concluded that Kearns took her own life, putting the gun to her head inside the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse, located in the Ingalls Park area of Joliet's east side. "Law enforcement searched the building. Deputies located a hole consistent with the size of a bullet in the ceiling. They entered the building area and found a bullet ricochet mark on a roof rafter. A search revealed a spent bullet among the ceiling rafters and insulation," Boshears' lawyers argued in a court filing from April 5, 2018. This week, Bretz revealed plans to introduce defense expert witness trial testimony from Ed Jauch, a retired law enforcement agent and expert in motorcycle club subculture. Jauch lives in Spring Valley. "Mr. Jauch has expertise as an accomplished undercover agent, deputized by the FBI and U.S. Marshal, and is an expert in the motorcycle club subculture and other similar organizations and in particular as to the Joliet Outlaws Motorcycle Club culture, including, but not limited to the rules that governed the members of those organizations," Bretz notified court officials. On Thursday, Bretz told Joliet Patch that the defense will be allowed to present evidence surrounding Kearns' mental health leading up to her death. Katie Kearns, a 24-year-old Mokena resident, worked at Woody's in Joliet. File image via Will County Sheriff's Office "We don't do this to impugn her in any way or to be disrespectful to her," Bretz explained. "She was under some mental health treatment for almost a two-year period for psychological issues." About three weeks before she died, Kearns had been treated at Silver Cross Hospital after cutting her wrists, Bretz said. Bretz said that at least one member of the Will County Sheriff's Office has questioned why Kearns' body was moved if Kearns fatally shot herself in the Joliet Outlaws Clubhouse. Bretz said it's important for everyone to remember that this did not happen inside the Knights of Columbus or the Moose Lodge. The notion that Joliet Outlaws members would be calling the police if someone died unexpectedly on their property isn't logical thinking, according to Bretz. "This isn't some social club," Bretz said. Bretz believes that testimony from both of his expert witnesses can help show his client is not guilty of murder. "These guys are both law enforcement," Bretz remarked Thursday. "These are both former police officers. We didn't try to find defense-oriented experts." During a pretrial hearing this week, Bretz told the judge and the three assistant Will County state's attorneys that he does not have to prove whether Kearns intended to take her own life in order to prove his client's innocence. "I don't think it really matters whether she intended to pull the trigger," Bretz told Judge Carlson this week in court. Nevertheless, leading up to her death, Kearns stated she was depressed, having anxiety disorders, panic attacks and mood swings, Bretz pointed out. That she underwent treatment at Silver Cross Hospital for cuts to her wrists three weeks before she died of a gunshot further illustrates she was having "unhealthy thought processes," Bretz argued this week. Joliet criminal defense attorney Chuck Bretz has insisted that Jeremy Boshears did not shoot Katie Kearns. File image via Bretz Law Offices Bretz said it's also possible that drama was unfolding and Kearns fired the gun, not necessarily intending to end her life. Joliet Patch has previously reported that the toxicology results for Katie Kearns showed a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.212. The toxicology also showed positive results for Xanax, oxcarbazepine, Citalopram, cocaine and cocaine metabolites. Kearns, who lived in rural Mokena, worked part-time at the Woody's Bar on East Washington Street, a Joliet bar that caters to bikers. "We don't have to prove her intent to take her own life," Bretz said Thursday. The Will County Sheriff's Office has said that Kearns and Boshears were romantically involved in the weeks prior to her death. Boshears grew up in the Ingalls Park area of Joliet's east side. At the time of his arrest, he and his family lived in Coal City. At the time of his 2017 arrest, Boshears worked for S&J Door in Frankfort. Now 36 years old, Boshears had no criminal record, aside from run-of-the-mill traffic offenses, at the time of his arrest on first-degree murder charges. Boshears was also charged with concealment of a homicidal death. Related Joliet Patch coverage: Katie Kearns May Have Killed Herself: Bretz Law Firm Tennessee Man To Testify At Boshears' Trial: Prosecutors 2 Experts May Prove Katie Kearns Shot Herself: Bretz Says Jeremy Boshears has remained in the Will County Jail since Nov. 18, 2017. Mugshot via Will County