A Vernon Hills man was found guilty of aggravated battery with a firearm and second-degree murder charges for killing a Zion man outside of Portillo’s Gurnee in 2021, authorities said.
Joey Gonzalez, 27, was convicted of a class one felony charge of second-degree murder, two class X felony counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, three class one felony charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm, and one class two felony count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, the Lake County State’s Attorney officials said in a news release.
Gonzalez is now facing 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections when he’s sentenced later this year, authorities said.
He’s due back in court on Aug. 2, court records show.
Gonzalez and co-conspirator Jesse Zumaya, 35, of Hainesville, were charged with the death of 26-year-old Jonathan Denicolas in the Gurnee Mills parking lot next to Portillo’s Gurnee.
Lake County Major Crime Task Force Spokesman Christopher Covelli said Gurnee police and fire were called to the parking lot for a person shot at 2:10 p.m. on November 27, 2021.
A 911 caller told police dispatchers that approximately 8-10 shots were fired in the area and someone was down on the ground, authorities said.
Authorities said a good Samaritan was attempting to render aid to Denicolas when authorities arrived on the scene, Covelli said.
Denicolas was transported by ambulance to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he later died from his injuries, the Lake County Coroner’s officials said.
The offenders involved in the shooting fled the scene before police arrival, Covelli said, and at least two bystanders reported their vehicles had been struck by the gunfire.
Covelli told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that investigators believe Denicolas was targeted and the shooting was not a random act.
Law enforcement officers eventually learned through phone records, eyewitnesses, and surveillance video that Denicolas had arranged to meet with Gonzalez the day of the shooting, state’s attorney officials said in Monday’s news release.
Authorities arrested Zumaya in early August of 2022 and the U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force took Gonzalez into custody in Woodridge later that same month, authorities said.
Both were officially charged with second-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm after their arrest.
The jury trial began Monday, June 10, and lasted five days, state’s attorney officials said.
They said Gonzalez claimed self-defense when he took the stand in his own defense during the trial, even though there was no evidence of Denicolas shooting at Gonzalez and no weapons were recovered from the scene.
“Shooters will be held responsible for the death and destruction they are causing,” said Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart. “Our trial teams are securing justice in the courtroom, and survivors are hopefully receiving some solace by these verdicts. Our victim specialists will continue to support them through their careful, trauma-informed practices.”
Before the trial, Gonzalez was being held in the Lake County Jail on a $10 million bond. His bond was revoked after the guilty verdict.