May 17, 2019

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley today announced that Jesus Larosa has been sentenced to life in prison for his murder of an 85-year-old Crete Township man in 2014. The victim, Alfred Hilton, was found severely beaten and strangled to death with a telephone cord in the kitchen of his home on the 3200 block of Bemes Road. His body was discovered on May 14, 2014, after he missed a church event. The home had been ransacked, and two televisions and a BB gun were stolen.

On March 12, a jury found Larosa guilty on three counts of first degree murder in the death of Mr. Hilton. Larosa had served 20 years for a prior murder conviction, and was out on parole when Mr. Hilton was murdered.

“This heinous crime was committed by a ruthless killer with no regard for human life,” Glasgow said. “It is only fitting that this depraved individual who took the life of a helpless senior citizen and another person before that should spend his remaining days staring at the barren walls of his maximum security prison cell.”

After working diligently on the case for fifteen months, following hundreds of tips and leads, Will County Sheriff detectives received a tip in March 2016 enabling them to identify Larosa as a new suspect. Larosa fled to Alabama after the warrant was issued for his arrest. A multi-state manhunt spearheaded by Sheriff’s detectives ensued. Larosa was apprehended in Dallas, Texas, in April 2016 and brought back to Will County for prosecution.

Glasgow credited Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley and the Sheriff’s detectives in the Investigation Division for the dedicated and diligent investigation that enabled prosecutors to obtain a guilty verdict. These include Dan Jungles, supervisor in charge of the investigation, lead investigator Jeff Brozik, second investigator Dan Procaroine, and investigators Jim Jones and Tom Omiecinski. Glasgow also praised Assistant State’s Attorneys Deborah Mills, Britt Florin, and Marie Griffin for their hard work and dedication in the trial and sentencing proceedings.

May 27

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced today that his office has filed first-degree murder charges against a former Wilmington man in connection with the killing of Riley Fox in 2004.

Glasgow filed first-degree murder charges against Scott Wayne Eby, 38, who currently is serving a 14-year prison sentence in the Lawrence Correctional Center for an unrelated criminal sexual assault that occurred in July 2005 in Will County.

State’s Attorney Glasgow last year formally asked the FBI to join the investigation into Riley Fox’s murder. The FBI brought unprecedented resources and expertise to a long-standing investigation.

Thursday’s charges are the culmination of the FBI’s involvement, which began formally on June 18, 2009. On that day, a team of FBI agents, assisted by investigators from the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Will County Sheriff’s Department, once again canvassed the neighborhoods near where Riley Fox lived.

“The FBI greatly expanded the investigative resources of local law enforcement by bringing a large team of highly trained agents and a fresh perspective to this horrific case,” Glasgow said. “Through methodical and dogged police work, this team of agents developed and followed up on dozens of additional sources and leads that eventually led to Scott Wayne Eby and the charges we have filed today.”

State’s Attorney Glasgow dismissed charges against Riley’s father, Kevin Fox, on June 17, 2005. Kevin Fox had been charged by a prior state’s attorney in October 2004 with the murder of his daughter. Within a day of filing those charges, the prior state’s attorney also announced his decision to seek the death penalty against Kevin Fox. 

Glasgow, who took office in December 2004, reviewed the case he had inherited and ordered the testing of DNA evidence retrieved from the young victim. He dismissed the charges against Kevin Fox after learning that the DNA evidence excluded Kevin Fox as a donor.

The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office reminds the public that charges are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

December 7

JOLIET – Bears Linebacker Brian Urlacher helped Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow and the Illinois State Crime Commission/Police Athletic League of Illinois give away hundreds of new winter coats to children in need on Saturday at MorningStar Mission.

The winter coat giveaway was part of the Illinois State Crime Commission’s 2009 Clothes For Kids Campaign. State’s Attorney Glasgow is the campaign’s Will County chairman. Urlacher, who is the state chairman, spent more than an hour with fans giving away new coats, posing for photographs and signing autographs.

“Brian Urlacher’s visit to MorningStar Mission added tremendous excitement for everyone who attended our local coat giveaway,” Glasgow said. “His generous involvement in the Clothes For Kids Campaign helped the Illinois State Crime Commission raise the money necessary to buy new, insulated winter coats for 5,400 children in the state.”

More than 500 of the individually wrapped winter coats arrived at MorningStar Mission early Saturday morning for the Will County giveaway. Volunteers from MorningStar and State’s Attorney Glasgow’s office separated the coats by style and size to prepare for the afternoon distribution to children in need.

The state’s attorney noted that the coat giveaway occurred at just the right time as the weather turned snowy and cold this week. He thanked Jerry Elsner, executive director of the Illinois State Crime Commission, for leading the charge to keep children warm this winter and for securing Urlacher’s commitment to the campaign.

Glasgow partnered locally with four Will County not-for-profit organizations that serve the needy: MorningStar Mission, Daybreak Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties and Catholic Charities Children’s Services. The individual agencies identified children in their respective programs who would benefit most by receiving a new winter coat.

“These agencies perform so much good work in our community, particularly during these difficult economic times,” Glasgow said. “I knew that they would place the coats into the hands of children who need them most this winter.” 

WJOL’s Outsiders – Stan Janota, Cy, Metal John and Dave Margliano – broadcast live while volunteers separated coats at MorningStar on Saturday morning. The Outsiders interviewed Urlacher while he was en route to one of several coat giveaways in the region as well as Glasgow and agency representatives whose clients received coats.

The state’s attorney thanked MorningStar Mission for hosting the coat giveaway in its Drop-In Center at 350 E. Washington Street. MorningStar, under the supervision of Executive Director Marilyn Farmer and Volunteer Coordinator Jackie Kinney, also organized the volunteers who assisted at the giveaway.

December 3

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow will distribute more than 500 new winter coats on Saturday to local needy children as part of the Illinois State Crime Commission/Police Athletic League of Illinois’ Clothes For Kids Campaign. 

The Chicago Bears’ Brian Urlacher also is tentatively scheduled to join State’s Attorney Glasgow and ISCC/PAL Executive Director Jerry Elsner to give away the new winter coats to children from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 5 at MorningStar Mission, 350 E. Washington St., in Joliet. Urlacher’s appearance at MorningStar Mission, however, is not yet definite.

Urlacher is the ISCC/PAL’s Illinois Chairman for this year’s Clothes for Kids Campaign, which will distribute a total of 5,400 winter coats to children throughout the state. 

Glasgow, who is the Campaign’s Will County Chairman, will distribute 504 brand new insulated winter coats to qualifying local children in grades one through eight on Saturday. 

The state’s attorney has partnered with four Will County not-for-profit organizations that serve the needy: MorningStar Mission, Daybreak Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties and Catholic Charities Children’s Services. The individual agencies have identified children in their respective programs who would benefit most by receiving a new winter coat. 

“Thanks to the Illinois State Crime Commission, these brand new coats will make winter in this difficult economy a little warmer for more than 500 children in our community,” Glasgow said. 

“Thanks also to Brian Urlacher for lending his support as the Illinois chairman for the Clothes for Kids Campaign. We’re hoping to see him at MorningStar Mission on Saturday.”

ISCC/PAL Director Elsner asked Glasgow to serve as the Clothes For Kids Campaign’s Will County chairman. In 2008, the Illinois State Crime Commission named Glasgow the State’s Attorney of the Year. It was the second time Glasgow received the honor from the Crime Commission.

“Jim has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to developing innovative programs to protect our young people,” Elsner said. “I knew right away he would jump at the opportunity to work with the Illinois State Crime Commission on a campaign that would take the chill out of winter for a lot of kids.”

The new children’s coats are double-insulated. To receive a coat, participating agencies will provide qualifying clients with letters to bring to MorningStar Mission on Saturday. Recipients must have a letter from their agency with the appropriate information and a photo ID to gain access to MorningStar Mission to receive a new coat.

For more information on Saturday’s Winter Coat Campaign, call (815) 727-8789.

November 6

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced that a Joliet man was sentenced to six years in prison for raping a young woman in the early-morning hours of New Years Day 2008.

Ernesto Puga Jr., 42, was convicted of criminal sexual assault at the conclusion of a bench trial in August. Circuit Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak, who presided over the trial, sentenced Puga on Friday (November 6).

The 18-year-old victim was a friend of Puga’s son. She had stayed overnight at Puga’s residence after a New Years Eve party.

Puga arrived home in an intoxicated state at about 6 a.m. on New Years Day and entered the room where the victim was sleeping alone. While he was in the room, Puga choked the victim and raped her.

The victim, who testified during the trial, filed a police report and went to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center for treatment. In addition to her testimony, Dr. Marie O’Connor testified at trial to the injuries the victim suffered during the sexual assault.

Assistant State’s Attorneys Anna Rossi and Frank Byers prosecuted the case.

“Ernesto Puga began the New Year in 2008 by forcing himself on a young woman who was a guest in his house,” State’s Attorney Glasgow said. “Because of his reprehensible deviance, this despicable degenerate will close out each of the next several years behind prison bars as a guest of the Illinois Department of Corrections.”