GUILTY: New Lenox Murderer Kevin Johnson Found Guilty By Judge

JOLIET — At 1 p.m. Wednesday, Will County's longest serving Judge, Amy Bertani-Tomczak, reconvened Courtroom 405 to announce her decision in the murder trial of Kevin Johnson. During the next five minutes, Judge Bertani recited a laundry list of reasons why she was certain that the murder defendant from Harvey is the one who killed Charlie Baird.

Baird, 19, was fatally shot May 11, 2020, at the New Lenox Circle K gas station.

Baird died of his gunshot wound a couple of days after being shot in the back while trying to run away from the gunman as he emerged from the back passenger seat of a car parked near his vehicle at the gas station pumps. The shooting happened around midnight.

"Obviously, we're extremely pleased with the verdict the judge had given Mr. Johnson," Jen Baird told Joliet Patch in the fourth floor hallway minutes after the verdict was read. "Coming into court, I almost had the same feeling in my stomach of knots of everything that transpired from the beginning to know when the cops came to my house to tell us that Charlie got shot. It was almost the same feeling I had today, just a bunch of nerves.

"I kind of had a feeling which way she was leaning, but you never know. My family is extremely grateful to Will County State's Attorney's Office, to all agencies that worked Charlie's case to get him. And now, we can sleep a little easier knowing that Charlie's killer is going to be behind bars, hopefully for a long time."

The prosecution team was led by Christine Vukmir, Katie Rabenda and Lauren Senko. Johnson was represented by the Will County Public's Defender's Office.

Johnson is now 21 years old. He was only 16 at the time of the New Lenox homicide, the only murder in the village during 2020.

Killer 'Cared About Himself And That's It': Victim's Mom

"In the beginning, he was going to plead out," Jen Baird told Joliet Patch in the hallway after the verdict. "And then, we're like, if you're not guilty, why would you take a plea? And I don't know who he talked to, you know how they talk inside (the jail) ... he was only 16 years old when this happened and when the public defender was saying he was only 16, I had really laughed out loud ... when (the public defender) said that in court. I said, 'Yeah, he was 16 years old with a damn gun in his hand, so he wasn't an innocent little boy. I have no idea if he's had parents, where they are, because it was always the grandma. He was living with the grandma, the grandma was coming to court, but I haven't seen the grandma at all during trial."

Joliet Patch asked Jen Baird, if during the murder trial, did she observe Johnson's behavior as he interacted with his three Will County public defenders?

"I tried not to, because if he was just being his smug ass***e self, I didn't want to see it," Jen Baird responded. "Because he has showed absolutely no remorse of what he had done. He tore a family, he tore a member of my family away from us. For what? A car, a car he didn't get. A car he was going to use to do more s**t to more people and unfortunately my son was in his path that day and instead of just letting him go, because that's the one thing I want to ask the mother f*****, why did you have to shoot him, he was running away from you? And you chase him, and shoot him in the back. Why?"

"What kind of monster does that? One who has no soul and does not care about life. He doesn't care about anyone else's life, he cared about himself and that's it."

Shooter Chose Bench Trial

Johnson opted to have the judge decide his case rather than select a jury of Will County citizens to decide his fate. Johnson also chose not to take the witness stand and testify in his own defense.

One of Johnson's public defender's informed the courtroom at the start of last week's trial that Johnson's older brother would be called to the stand to furnish Kevin Johnson with an alibi for the time of the murder, that did not happen. Johnson's older brother was never called to the witness stand by the defense.

For his bench trial, Johnson's three attorneys were Will County Public Defender Jaylen Windham, Samantha Kerins and Jason Strzelecki.

His sentencing is May 21.

Related trial coverage:

• 'Overwhelming Evidence, But It's All True Evidence': Charlie Baird's Mom
• Kevin Johnson Fatally Shot Charlie Baird At Gas Station: Eyewitness
• Murder Of Charlie Baird: Daring Daytime Crime Preceded Shooting
• DNA From Stolen SUV Came From Kevin Johnson: New Lenox Murder Trial Testimony
• Murder At New Lenox Gas Station: 'It's My Son Charlie'