3 charged with murder in Joliet Township mass shooting that left 2 dead

A police car sits outside a house where more than 12 people were wounded, two of them fatally, in a shooting Oct 31, 2021, at a Halloween party in Joliet Township. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Three men have been charged with killing two people and wounding nine others last Halloween at a party in southwest suburban Joliet Township.

The men were arrested over the last two months and charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22. They were identified as Joskar S. Ramos, 18, of Joliet, Thomas Lopez, 21, of Joliet, and Jeremy Lopez, 19, of Lockport Township.

Police have two gunmen had opened fire from an elevated porch into a crowd of 200 people as a party was winding down in the backyard of a home in the 1000 block of East Jackson Street.

Holly Mathews (left) and Jonathan Ceballos were killed in a shooting that wounded at least nine other people.

Officers had been called at least three times about noise at the party but had not tried to disperse the crowd. Police said the shooting was gang-related but that the two people who died had no gang ties.

Ramos was arrested Nov. 5 on separate weapons charges at a home in Joliet. Police accused him of trying to hide a gun on the roof while officers tried to arrest him.

Thomas Lopez and Jeremy Lopez, brothers, were arrested without incident Jan. 4.

Jeremy Lopez was arrested at his girlfriend’s home in the 300 block of Franklin Street in Joliet. The girlfriend was arrested on drug charges and her child was given to the custody of Jeremy Lopez’s family members.

Thomas Lopez was arrested at his mother’s apartment in the 500 block of Parkview Lane in unincorporated Lockport Township.

The sheriff’s office said the Lopez brothers are Vice Lord gang members with extensive histories of weapons arrests.

Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley said the public provided critical information that led to the arrests.

“This tragic incident could not have been solved without the help of the public, so I want to thank those that came forward with information,” Kelley said in a statement.

The trio also face counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Their bonds were set at $10 million pending their initial court appearances in Will County.