Murderer At Joliet's Denny Restaurant Learns His Prison Sentence

JOLIET — It has taken five years and six months to reach this point, but the Will County State's Attorney's Office has obtained a guilty plea and a 37-and-a-half-year prison sentence from the Denny's Restaurant parking lot murderer, Christopher C. Parker.

A native of Chicago, Parker will be required to serve his prison term at 100 percent, according to court documents. Parker was entitled to credit for time served, which is a lot — 1,992 days, from May 7, 2019, through Oct. 18, 2024.

On Friday, before Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak, Parker pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for ending the life of Crest Hill resident Gregory Brown in the parking lot of the Denny's Restaurant on Joliet's Plainfield Road.

Parker "conspired with two others to set up victim for a robbery," read the official statement of facts submitted by the prosecutors. "When the victim arrived on scene to meet up with the female defendant, this defendant and codefendant were hiding in the backseat. When victim got into the car, defendant and codefendant pulled a gun to commit an armed robbery. During that crime, victim was shot in the head. He died as a result of those injuries."

Last December, Joliet Patch reported the following events led to Brown's slaying on Joliet's busy Plainfield Road, according to court records:

At 10:03 p.m. on April 30, 2019, Joliet police were sent to the Denny's restaurant on Plainfield Road, where Brown was found dead in the parking lot.

He suffered a gunshot to the head.

The Denny's video surveillance showed Brown arriving at 9:12 p.m. in his Yukon as Bobbie Jo Ollom pulled into the lot, driving her four-door sedan. After their meal at Denny's, Ollom eventually went back to her car, and moments later, Brown also opened her passenger's door.

"Within seconds of him entering, Ollom is seen jumping out of the vehicle followed by an individual from the back passenger's seat who exits and is observed removing the victim from the car, leaving his body on the ground of the parking lot, and going through his pockets."\"Victim was seen on video with a large amount of cash and a cell phone. Victim did not have that large amount of cash or cell phone on him after being dumped, and it was not in his vehicle. No firearm and no casing was found on scene."

In February 2023, Patch reported that Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Ollom to 18 years of imprisonment. Ollom must serve her armed robbery conviction at 85 percent, according to downtown Joliet criminal defense lawyer Chuck Bretz.

Working in her favor, Ollom will receive credit for time already served. That means Ollom has about "10 years to go," Bretz explained at the time.

The guilty pleas and sentences for Parker and Ollom leave only one co-defendant left. Joshua Anderson, who has mostly served as his own lawyer, is scheduled to have his jury trial on December 9 in Courtroom 405.

The judge also set Nov. 4 as a status hearing for Anderson's jury trial. Anderson remains in the Will County Jail, where he has filed numerous lawsuits against the Will County Jail since his 2019 incarceration. In his 2022 lawsuit, Anderson claimed he found a staple in his cereal in the Will County Jail that April.

According to Anderson's pro se lawsuit, "plaintiff could have died if he would have mistakenly eaten the staple, and that would have greatly caused plaintiff's family anxiety and stress. Plaintiff goes through mental stress daily worrying if his kosher food will have a life-threatening object in it. Kosher meals are supposed to be safe and fit to eat, but the meal the kitchen sent plaintiff wasn't."

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Mom's Dying Wish Is To See Bobbie Jo Ollom Out Of Jail

Staple Found In Joliet Murder Defendant's Cereal: Lawsuit

Denny's Murder Defendant Sues County Jail Over Mattress