Convicted Killer Amari Morgan Attacked Woman At Hotel: JPD

JOLIET — More than eight months after Amari Morgan regained his freedom for the first time in more than eight years, the Joliet Township killer now faces a felony warrant from the Joliet Police Department in connection with a violent crime at Fenton's Motel, 2305 W. Jefferson St.

Morgan's latest criminal complaint alleges that on Sept. 26, he struck a woman who was staying in one of the rooms at Fenton's Motel.

Morgan is accused of hitting the woman in the face multiple times. Now 26 years old, Morgan faces one count of aggravated battery and two counts of domestic battery from Joliet police.

The warrant issued for his arrest from Will County Judge Art Smigielski indicates that Morgan is to be held without release and brought before the court for pretrial detention or conditions of release hearing. Morgan now resides in the 1100 block of Joliet's Bryan Avenue, according to court records.

Back in January, as part of a plea bargain, Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow and his team of prosecutors opted to dismiss Amari Morgan's first-degree murder charges in exchange for a guilty plea to second-degree murder. Morgan was 17 when he clubbed his family's long-time next door neighbor, 62-year-old Bob Bielec, over the head numerous times with a baseball bat.

The attack happened moments after Bielec pulled his car into his driveway, late at night, on Jan. 7, 2016. Morgan and his older brother Blaique Morgan orchestrated the attack on their neighbor who lived at 1704 Houston Ave. Bielec died from a skull fracture, and his clothes were covered by his blood. He died with a cigarette in one hand and his keys in the other hand, according to prosecutors, proving that the attack by the Morgan brothers was premeditated.

According to the terms of January's plea bargain worked out by Amari Morgan's criminal defense attorney Jeff Tomczak, Amari Morgan was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum punishment for second-degree murder in Illinois. However, Amari Morgan received credit for time already served, a staggering 2,944 days, inside the Will County Jail.

In addition to the eight years of time already served, Morgan was given 90 days of credit for obtaining his G.E.D., plus another 90 days for completing various courses in the jail including anger management, and another 770 days of extra credit for work assignment completions.

Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius also announced that the 20-year prison term would be served at 50 percent, so Amari Morgan was released in January 2024.

Related Joliet Patch coverage of Amari Morgan and his brother Blaque Morgan:

• Amari Morgan Pleads To 2nd Degree Murder, Gets Out Of Will County Jail
• 'Reap What You Sow' Baseball Bat Murder: Amari Morgan To Plead Guilty