Free on Bond Before Murder Trial, Killer Goes to Jail on Traffic Case: Cops

JOLIET, IL — A Joliet man who was freed on his own recognizance while he waited on the start of his trial for a 2012 murder was jailed in connection with a traffic case.

Kenneth Edwards, 48, was locked up Thursday morning for allegedly failing to appear in court. Edwards missed a court date on whether to revoke his conditional discharge for a June 2015 speeding ticket. He allegedly neglected to show up for a previous hearing and did not pay a $500 fine.

Edwards was cited for going 62 mph on a Harley Davidson in a 30 mph zone on Patterson Road.

Edwards’ alleged accomplice in the August 2012 murder of Sean McGinn, 42-year-old Jermain Bennett, was also speeding on a motorcycle when he ran into a car and was killed in June.

Bennett was released from jail less than three months prior to his death. He had spent three and a half years in custody following the 39-year-old McGinn’s murder.

Bennett and McGinn owned the Cass Street boxing gym Team Joliet KO Zone together. According to police, Bennett and Edwards set up a phony cocaine deal involving McGinn. McGinn reportedly headed to the area behind his downtown gym and when he arrived he was shot twice.

A large sum of money was missing from McGinn’s car after the killing, police said.

Bennett and Edwards were both charged with murder and armed robbery.

Bennett pleaded guilty to robbery in July 2014 and the murder charge was dismissed in exchange for his testimony against Edwards. Bennett’s bail was later reduced to $4,000 and he was freed April 27.

Edwards was actually released 16 months earlier to avoid violating his right to a speedy trial. His trial is supposed to start in September.

When he was killed, Bennett was out after midnight on his motorcycle in spite of a court order that forbade him from leaving his parents’ Minton Road home — except to see his attorney, go to the doctor, or attend “one religious ceremony per week.”

Special prosecutor Dave Neal previously said he does not expect Bennett’s death to impact his case against Edwards.