Joliet Police Make Arrest in December Murder

On Thursday, Joliet Police made an arrest in connection to the December 23, 2018 murder of a 19-year-old male. At 12:30 a.m., 19-year-old Jermaine Peete was shot and killed in the 600 block of Dover Street in Joliet. Police arrested 18-year-old Daniel Briceno on Thursday and was charged with the murder of Peete, as well as another shooting for hitting another victim in the buttocks. Briceno is being held on a no-bond hold at the Will County Detention Center for charges including first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery involving a gun and one count of aggravated discharge of a gun.

According to the obituary published by Minor-Morris Funeral Home, Jermaine graduated from Joliet Township High School in May 2018. He loved being a father to his one and only child, J.J.; loved playing basketball, wrestling, boxing, and spending time with family and friends. Jermaine was a part of the Joliet Community Action Network male mentoring program with his grandmother and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

At the time of publication, the motive for the murder is unknown. This is one of several murders to occur in Joliet this year. In August, Danica Ford of Concord, North Carolina was found dead just off of Jefferson Street near Woodlawn Memorial Park. In November, Joliet teacher Michael Kazecki beat to death his wife, 38-year-old Rebecca Kazecki, after she tried to intervene Tuesday when he was hitting their 11-year-old son and was later charged with first-degree murder. On November 2, 2018 Peter Zabala was charged with the murder of Joliet resident Ashley Tucker, a woman who was missing from early October until early November when the Joliet Police found her body after a home search on the city's east side.