Four arrested in Channahon shooting

CHANNAHON – Police have made four arrests in the Tuesday morning shooting of two Channahon residents.

Jason Orasco, 24, of Channahon; Matthew Edwards, 17, Joliet; Mary Vetor, 24, Joliet; and Ashley Hill, 17, Joliet, were each charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, and one count of home invasion.

Channahon Police Chief Joe Pena announced the arrests Wednesday afternoon. He also identified the victims – Lauren Vasilakis, 19, and Josh Terdic, 21.

Pena said the four arrested and the two victims were acquaintances.

"This was an isolated event," Pena said of the shooting. "They went in with intent; they knew what they were walking into."

The chief said the suspects planned the robbery and took several items from the Blackberry Lane apartment during the early Tuesday incident, to which police were alerted by a 911 call of a home invasion around 6:30 a.m.

He said the two male suspects, Edwards and Orasco, were the ones who entered the apartment, while the two females, Vetor and Hill, assisted them in the crime.

"Under Illinois Law, if you aid and abet as the two females did in this case, you may be charged with the same crime," Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow explained during the early Wednesday afternoon press conference.

Orasco was in custody Tuesday evening, Pena said, confirming Orasco was the "person of interest" being questioned simultaneous to a Tuesday evening press conference.

Interrogation of Orasco and questioning of Vasilikas, who has been treated and released from the hospital in the wake of the shooting, led to the arrest of the other three suspects. The three were together in the 500 block of Cayuga Street, in unincorporated Joliet, when taken into custody.

Glasgow said the four will be arraigned Thursday morning in Will County Circuit Court. No further arrests are expected.

Terdic underwent surgery Wednesday morning and is recovering from his wounds.

The apartment building was reopened to residents early Wednesday afternoon.

Channahon Police responded to a 911 call Tuesday morning about 6:30 a.m. to the 25000 block of Blackberry Lane.

"Upon our arrival at the scene and assessing the situation, a decision was made to call out the newly created Will Grundy Major Crimes Task Force to assist us in the investigation," Pena said in crediting the cooperative for the speed with which the arrests were made.

It was because of the help of 34 investigators and evidence technicians from surrounding areas, all of whom are part of the task force that was working its first case since its June 1 inception, that Channahon Police were able to make the arrests within 12 hours, he said.