Girlfriend of suspect in deadly Will County shootings pleads not guilty to obstruction

JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) -- The girlfriend of a Joliet area murder suspect pleaded not guilty to obstruction of justice in Will County court Thursday.

Joliet police said 21-year-old Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton made statements in an attempt to stop police from arresting her boyfriend, Romeo Nance, after he allegedly shot nine people, eight fatally, in Will County.

Cleveland-Singleton is the mother of Nance's 3-year-old child.

Police said they first made contact with Cleveland-Singleton when they were looking for their son in the aftermath of the shootings. During the investigation, detectives were told the child may be with his mother and grandmother at a home in Plainfield. Police went to that home where they found the child as well as Cleveland-Singleton.

While she voluntarily went with police for questioning about the shooting spree, detectives believe she made statements to prevent them from apprehending Nance and to obstruct the investigation.

Police said Cleveland-Singleton lied to them by saying she didn't have Nance's phone number.

She was ordered to remain on electronic monitoring, as she stays with her mother.

She faces one to six years in prison if convicted, and is next due in court March 7.

Nance allegedly went on a deadly shooting spree in the Joliet area last month. He took his own life during a confrontation with Texas police the next day, authorities said.

Joliet police said two of the shootings "appear to be more random in nature" than the other two shootings, in which Nance targeted multiple relatives.

Nance is believed to have a criminal history; though, police did not offer any further details. Police said that in cases like this, they may never know the motive behind the crimes.

Joliet police asked anyone with information about the crimes to contact them.