Holly Barker Learns Sentence After Wilmington Plea Bargain

WILMINGTON — After spending 25 hours in the Will County Jail this week, Holly Higgins Barker, the 52-year-old owner of the empty Launching Pad restaurant building in Wilmington, has regained her freedom following Monday's plea agreement and sentencing at the Will County Courthouse.

Court records indicate that Barker pleaded guilty to the crime of disorderly conduct. Will County prosecutors dismissed Barker's second criminal charge, harassment by telephone as part of her plea bargain.

On Monday, Will County Judge Donald DeWilkins sentenced Barker to one year of court of supervision and fined her about $720. By 2:35 p.m., Barker was freed from the Will County Jail; she was taken into custody by the Will County Sheriff's Office on Sunday because she had an outstanding arrest warrant, after failing to show up in court for several of her court scheduled court appearances.

According to the order of protection stalking petition taken out by neighbor, on June 19, "Holly put a sign up on my fence stating I was a raccoon satanic vampire living next door."

A Wilmington Police Department report is cited in the court record.

Then, the next day, Barker was at it again, according to the petition.

"Holly posted on Facebook stating, 'I'm going to fillet the vampire bitch like a mother f****** carp and throw the (corpse) on the road for Wilmington to pick up, or if you're not interested there are tons of vultures. You have maybe 48 hours.' "I have the video present with me as evidence," the victim wrote in court papers.

The Wilmington victim lives near Barker's house in Wilmington in the 800 block of East Baltimore Street, right by the shuttered Launching Pad restaurant that Barker chose not to sell to the Joliet Area Historical Museum earlier this year.

Instead, Barker only sold off the Gemini Giant, at a price of $275,000. She and Tully Garrett closed the restaurant back in 2022.

On the final Saturday of November, Wilmington Mayor Ben Dietz spearheaded a ribbon-cutting event in Wilmington to commemorative the new permanent location for the Gemini Giant, at the South Island Park along the Kankakee River National Trail.

Barker was not present at the event, which was attended by several hundred Wilmington area Gemini Giant and historic Route 66 enthusiasts.

Back in January, Joliet Patch reported that the Launching Pad parking lot littered with shards of broken glass from several Route 66 soda bottles. Other junk and equipment was strewn throughout the parking lot and placed around the Gemini Giant.

Wilmington's Deputy Police Chief Justin Dole told Joliet Patch that Barker was given two ordinance violation tickets as a result of her conduct involving the destruction of property. "The main thing is her safety and keeping it clean," Dole said of the world-famous Wilmington tourist attraction. "The people of this town have so many good memories of The Launching Pad."

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

• Criminal Charges Filed Against Former Gemini Giant Owner
• Gemini Giant Will Be Moved To Safe Location: GoFundMe Vows
• Destruction Of Launching Pad Underway, Police Cite Owner: 12 Photos
• Launching Pad: Joliet's Museum Would Buy It, But Only At This Price