Romeo Nance's Accomplice Charged With Joliet Township Murder: Sheriff

JOLIET — Jon Hansen, a 24-year-old Shorewood resident with an extensive Will County criminal history, is now being charged with first-degree murder for his role in helping now-deceased Joliet mass murder defendant Romeo Nance commit one Joliet Township killing and the non-fatal shooting of another person back in January, the sheriff's office said.

The Will County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook that Hansen faces three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of aggravated battery with a gun. Thursday, detectives with the Will County Sheriff’s Office obtained an arrest warrant for Hansen, and Will County Judge Sarah Jones signed the no-bond arrest warrant.

Hansen's address is listed in the 300 block of Ravinia Drive.

"Jon later told detectives that he threw the gun given to him by Romeo Nance in the DuPage River near his residence. Jon refused to provide any further information regarding the location of the firearm. Detectives were able to determine the location of the firearm through other investigative means," the Will County Sheriff's said on Facebook on Friday evening.

Back on Jan. 21, the Will County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call regarding a shooting at the Pheasant Run Apartments in unincorporated Joliet Township. Deputies located a critically injured man, Toyosi Bakare, 28, of Joliet with a single gunshot wound to his head.

While deputies were securing the crime scene, they learned that another shooting occurred in the City of Joliet in the 200 block of Davis Street a short time prior. Victim Mario Guerrero reported to members of the Joliet Police Department that the suspect vehicle in this incident was a red Toyota.

That Sunday evening, Toyosi Bakare died of his gunshot at St. Joe's hospital.

By 8 p.m., law enforcement identified a red Toyota Camry bearing Illinois license plate Q73 0412 as the car used by Joliet resident Romeo Nance, who had an extensive criminal history. Later, seven of Nance's family members were found slain inside their houses on West Acres Road in the city of Joliet.

Nance later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after fleeing to Texas, police said back in January.

"The Will County Sheriff’s Office is able to confirm that the 9mm handgun used by Romeo Nance to end his own life is the same weapon used to murder Toyosi Bakare," authorities said on Friday evening.

Over the past four months, police said detectives with the Will County Sheriff’s Office and the Joliet Police Department determined that Jon W. Hansen was with Romeo Nance prior to the shootings of Toyosi Bakare and Mario Guerrero.

In late January, detectives with the Will County Sheriff’s Office interviewed Hansen and "Jon made statements to detectives indicating that he was with Romeo Nance on January 21 beginning around 3:30 p.m.

"Jon further stated that he was with Romeo Nance, when the two random shootings occurred in the Joliet area. Jon stated that the gun used to shoot Mario Guerrero on Davis Street in Joliet was the given to him by Romeo Nance just after the shooting. Jon also stated he was with Romeo Nance when Toyosi Bakare was shot and killed at the Pheasant Run Apartments in Joliet Township. Jon stated that the gun used to shoot Toyosi Bakare was a 9mm Glock Ghost Gun."

On Feb. 5, detectives met with members of the Plainfield Fire Department to conduct a search in the DuPage River near Westshore Drive and Picnic Street in Shorewood. A Plainfield Fire Department diver located a loaded black Springfield Armory XDS pistol by dragging a magnet on the bottom of the riverbed.

Meanwhile, Hansen invoked his right to remain silent regarding the allegations. Hansen is incarcerated at the Will County Adult Detention Facility awaiting his initial court appearance. Hansen was booked into the jail at 4:24 p.m. Friday.

"The detectives just would not give up on this," Will County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dan Jungles told Joliet Patch on Friday night. "It was a true team effort and they would not stop until they got all the proper information."

Jungles told Joliet Patch on Friday night that Hansen and Romeo Nance were long-time friends and associates. Sheriff's officials still believe that Romeo Nance carried out all the murders, but Hansen is being charged with the Joliet Township murder under the prosecution's theory of accountability.

In January, the following relatives of Romeo Nance were found dead inside two homes on West Acres in Joliet: Nance's mother, 47-year-old Tameka Nance; brother Joshua Nance, 31; aunt Christine Esters, 38, uncle William Esters, 35; and sisters Alexandria Nance, 20; Alonnah Nance, 16, and Angel Nance, 14.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

'Romeo Nance's Reign Of Terror' In Joliet Is Over: Sheriff's Office

Home Confinement, No More Jail Time For Romeo Nance's Girlfriend

2 Joliet West Students Among 7 Family Slain By Romeo Nance