Joliet Convicted Murderer Gets 12 Years For 2021 Fatal Shooting

JOLIET, IL — A 71-year-old Joliet man has been sentenced to spend 12 years in prison after he was convicted in the 2021 shooting death of his girlfriend, Will County officials announced on Thursday. Officials said the couple had gotten into an argument after drinking with friends.

Ben Rockett was sentenced by a judge on Wednesday in the fatal shooting of his live-in girlfriend of three years, Sonja Underwood, who died on the evening of March 30, 2021. Rockett pleaded guilty to a charge of armed habitual criminal in connection with the shooting death, which took place after police said Rockett pulled a gun out from under his bed and shot Underwood.

Police said that Rockett had been drinking with two friends at their home in the 200 block of South Illinois Street. After his friends left, Rockett began to argue with Underwood, 56, and the argument turned physical, police said. Police said Rockett and Underwood began to struggle over the gun, which then went off.

Police said that Underwood was fatally shot in the face after the bullet entered her head through the chin, then exited out of the back of her head. Police said that Underwood’s niece called police the following morning and said that her aunt had been shot during a domestic dispute.

According to authorities, Rockett was a convicted felon and did not have a FOID card. According to Will County prosecutors, Rockett was convicted in 1991 of second-degree murder and following his release from prison, he was convicted of burglary in 2000. Both crimes happened in Will County.

Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow elected not to file murder charges in Underwood's death, instead charged Rockett as an armed habitual offender.

“The tragic fatal shooting of Sonja Underwood underscores the deadly intersection between guns and domestic violence. Abusers with firearms are five times more likely to kill their female victims,” Glasgow said in a statement on Wednesday. “This convicted felon should never have had a firearm in his possession. Everyone has the human right to live in safety and to be free from violence and abuse.”

Rockett’s sentence will be served at 85 percent, officials said. He will receive 980 days credit for time served.