Ex-Gas Station Worker Sentenced For Concealing Boss' Death Outside Crest Hill Bar

JOLIET, IL — A former gas station employee has learned his sentence after prosecutors say he used a shopping cart and blanket to conceal his boss' body outside a Crest Hill bar.

In 2023, Joliet Patch broke the story after the body of 44-year-old Jeanie Bresley, a manager at the nearby Circle K gas station, was discovered inside a vehicle outside Gustos Bar.

Her body had been moved from the Crest Hill Inn hotel room of criminal defendant Kelvanti "Marcel" Lawrence, according to the Will County State's Attorney Office of Jim Glasgow.

Lawrence, a Texas native who turns 32 in July, had worked at the Joliet Circle K near the Louis Joliet Mall. He is now being housed in the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to concealment of a death and unlawful use of weapons by a felon.

Lawrence received a six-year prison sentence for concealing Bresley's death and eight years in prison for the weapons charge. However, the eight-year prison term will be served at the same time as the six-year prison term.

Lawrence also got credit for the time he already served in the Will County Jail awaiting trial, for a total of 554 days of credit. Will County Judge Amy Christiansen presided over his sentencing.

The Illinois Department of Corrections shows a projected parole date for Lawrence of July 20, 2027. He just arrived at Stateville on April 11.

"Defendant moved her body to a different location," the sentencing documents reflect. "Police went to defendant's hotel room and he had a gun. He is a felon."

Lawrence's prior crimes happened in Bell County, Texas.

Joliet Patch previously reported that on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, at 8:37 a.m., Lawrence used Bresley's cell phone to call police for a welfare check at Gusto's Bar.

According to court documents, Lawrence told the Crest Hill police someone may be sleeping in a vehicle and that Lawrence had knocked on the car window and there was no response.

The vehicle, a purple Chrysler 300, was backed into the parking lot of Gustos; the doors were closed but unlocked, and the hazard lights were on.

Bresley was in a laying position, wedged between the door and the seat on the passenger side floorboard, the filing said. Police spoke with the victim's daughter, who informed them that Bresley consumed cocaine and other drugs on occasion and that Bresley had a male friend, Lawrence, who worked with her at the Circle K on Plainfield Road and that their relationship was sexual.

Lawrence and Bresley were staying at the Crest Hill Inn next to Gustos Bar, and video surveillance from the hotel showed Lawrence and another man moving Bresley's body. Then, Lawrence drove Bresley's vehicle to Gustos and left her and her vehicle there.

Prosecutors noted that Lawrence used a blanket to cover Bresley as he pushed her body in the grocery cart before putting her into the car. He later returned to the Crest Hill Inn and threw away the blanket, prosecutors said.

Lawrence had been staying at the Crest Hill Inn for about two months. He had worked at the Circle K since March 2023. Lawrence did not own a car, and he relied on his manager, Bresley, for rides to work. Lawrence described himself as Bresley's best friend, saying they hung out together and had a sexual relationship, according to the prosecutors.

Finally, according to court records, Lawrence told police he woke up and found Bresley dead, and that she had been snoring around 1 or 2 a.m. before he found her dead around 7 a.m. He said they were drinking Hennessy and smoking marijuana in his room, but he denied they used cocaine.

The petition said Lawrence told police he fell asleep before Bresley, and that she had used cocaine, but not that particular night.