Defender – Shaw Local

A Shorewood man and his pregnant girlfriend were at the mercy of a “suicidal madman” who killed seven of his family members and randomly shot two others, a defense attorney said.

That claim was made Tuesday by defense attorney Jeff Tomczak during the pretrial release hearing for 24-year-old Jon Hansen, who is charged with the premeditated murder of 28-year-old Toyosi Bakare and the attempted murder of Mario Guerrero.

Bakare and Guerrero were shot by Romeo Nance, 23, of Joliet, according to police. Authorities said Nance was also responsible for the killing of seven members of his family on Jan. 21. After the mass shooting, Nance took his own life following a confrontation with police in Texas.

According to Will County Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Dan Jungles, Hansen is believed to be responsible for Nance’s fatal shooting of Bakare and the non-fatal shooting of Guerrero.

According to court documents, prosecutors alleged that Hansen and his girlfriend were in a car with Nance on the day of the shooting, and Hansen’s girlfriend thought they were “driving around and smoking and drinking,” according to court documents.

However, Tomczak claims there is no evidence that Hansen shot Bakare and Guerrero himself or even encouraged those shootings. He argued that the “mere presence” of a defendant is not enough to prove that he is responsible for another person’s crime.

Tomczak claimed that Hansen and his pregnant girlfriend were in the car with Nance during the shooting and repeatedly tried to get out of the car. He said Hansen cooperated with Nance to survive.

Tomczak said Hansen was in a car with a “suicidal madman” who had just killed his family.

“What would someone do under these circumstances, Your Honor?” asked Tomczak.

Tomczak said Nance “sang songs about killing people.”

Will County Assistant District Attorney Christine Vukmir argued that Hansen had an opportunity to escape Nance and that the state’s evidence would show that he planned to commit crimes against members of rival gangs on the day of the murders.

“He is a danger to the community,” Vukmir said.

Among the evidence police recovered, prosecutors said, were messages in which Hansen allegedly told his girlfriend that Nance had “grabbed” him in order to set him on fire with a “torch.”

Will County Judge Vincent Cornelius ruled that Hansen should remain in prison, citing allegations that Bakare and Guerrero were randomly shot and the “gang undertones” in Hansen’s case.

The case against Hansen is the second brought by Will County District Attorney James Glasgow in response to the mass shooting that left eight people dead and one man injured.

The other case involves an obstruction of justice charge against Nance’s girlfriend, Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton, 21, of Joliet. She is accused of knowingly giving false information to Joliet police investigators in an attempt to prevent Nance’s arrest.

Cleveland-Singleton’s attorney, Chuck Bretz, said she had no idea Nance’s mass shooting would occur and that she was “herself a victim of the senseless violence that took place.”

According to Joliet police reports, Cleveland-Singleton was with Nance when he killed his family on West Acres Road and stayed in touch with him even after he got a new cell phone before attempting to flee to Mexico.

The last call from Cleveland-Singleton’s phone to Nance’s phone lasted about 18 minutes and occurred on the morning of Jan. 22 as Nance was traveling south on Interstate 30 and entering Texas, police reports show.