3 charged in Joliet Halloween shooting that killed 2, injured a dozen more last year

WILL COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- Three people have been charged in connection with a shooting at a Joliet Township Halloween party that killed two people and injured a dozen others last year, the Will County Sheriff's Office said late Wednesday.

Joskar S. Ramos, 18, of Joliet; Thomas Lopez, 21, of Joliet; and Jeremy Lopez, 19, of Lockport Township face charges related to the shooting that killed Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22 years old, Oct. 31.
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Ramos was arrested Nov. 5 for various weapon-related offenses, Will County officials said. While being taken into custody, a deputy reportedly saw him try to hide a gun on the roof of his home.



He's been held at the Will County jail since then on $1 million bond.

Brothers Thomas and Jeremy Lopez were arrested Tuesday at their homes. Will County officials said the two are Vice Lord gang members and have extensive weapons histories.



All three suspects were charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and various weapons offenses.

Their bond was set at $10 million.
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SEE MORE: 2 killed in Halloween party shooting in Joliet Township ID'd, over a dozen others hurt


Police responded to the shooting in the backyard of a home around 12:40 a.m. Oct. 31 in the 1000-block of East Jackson Street.

More law enforcement officials arrived and saw multiple people who had been shot in the backyard and at nearby houses. More shots were heard while first responders were treating those who had been wounded, police said.

Holly Mathews was studying to be an arborist at Joliet Junior College and had just gotten engaged two weeks before her death while on vacation in Utah. But while she was out with two girlfriends celebrating Halloween night at a house party, her loved ones said she was shot and killed.



A witness, who only wanted to be identified as Nathan, said he was there, along with much of his family and friends from high school.
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Jonathan Ceballos was his childhood friend.

"He was a great dude. Straight-A dude, great at sports -- just a genuinely good person. I knew his dad. His dad coached me," he said.

Mathews and her friends were there only briefly and had, by all accounts, decided to leave when police said at least two men standing on the porch began firing into a crowd of people gathered in the backyard.