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Kankakee man charged in fatal attack at Oswego Chick-fil-A restaurant found unfit to stand trial

Darryl Lee Jr. to receive mental health treatment to restore him to fitness

Darryl Lee Jr., 19, of Kankakee

The Kankakee man charged in a fatal attack in Oswego has been found unfit to stand trial.

Kendall County Judge Jody Gleason on Tuesday made the decision after reading a doctor’s evaluation of Darryl Lee Jr., 20, who is charged with killing a man using a hammer and knife and injuring another person Oct. 22 at the Chick-fil-A restaurant in Oswego. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Lee has been remanded to the Illinois Department of Human Resources for mental health treatment. He faces 11 felony counts, including first-degree murder, concealment of a homicidal death, and armed robbery.

The victim in the fatal attack has been identified as Tracey J. Land, 52, of Bridgeview.

Land was making a delivery to the restaurant at 2740 Route 34 when, about 3:10 a.m., Lee allegedly broke into the restaurant and attacked him with a hammer and a knife, Oswego police said.

At about 5 a.m., Oswego police were called to the restaurant for a report of a stabbing. Upon arrival, officers found the alleged offender, later identified by police as Lee, being restrained by two contracted maintenance workers.

Officers immediately took Lee into custody and began providing medical aid to one of the workers who had been injured, police said.

The injured 20-year-old man was taken to an area hospital. Based on statements allegedly made by Lee, officers conducted a protective sweep of the restaurant and discovered Land’s body inside. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lee will be committed to the Illinois Department of Human Services in an inpatient secure facility, Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric Weis said after the hearing.

“The doctor who did the evaluation believes he can be restored to fitness within a year, which is the standard in the state of Illinois for fitness,” Weis said. “And once he is found to be fit, he’ll be returned here back in Kendall County, and the proceedings will continue on.”

He believes the judge made the right decision in declaring that Lee is unfit to stand trial at this time.

“The finding of fitness does not impact at all the defendant’s guilt or innocence in a trial,” Weis said.

Weis said he believes that Lee understands the charges against him but that he is not able to assist in his own defense.

“That’s usually where the issue comes up when you have a mental illness without treatment or medications,” he said. “So they’ll give him some treatment as well as medications, which will allow him then to assist his attorneys in his own defense.”

Lee will remain in custody in the Kendall County Jail until the Illinois Department of Human Services has a bed available.

“That’s sort of the problem in Illinois right now, there’s not enough beds available for inpatient treatment,” he said. “So he will stay in the Kendall County Jail until a bed becomes available, and then he’ll be transferred to a locked secure facility, which is basically a correctional institution for mental illness, and then brought back here.”

The goal is to get him into a facility in the next 30 days, Weis said.

Lee has been assigned a public defender. A treatment plan for Lee is expected to be presented at the next hearing on the case, which is set for Feb. 9.

Police said that after allegedly killing Land, Lee remained in the restaurant and tried to clean up the crime scene. The maintenance workers were outside the restaurant, unaware that Lee was inside and had allegedly killed Land, police said.

Lee exited the restaurant at about 4:55 a.m. and allegedly attacked the 20-year-old man from behind by stabbing him with a knife, police said. Despite his injuries, the man was able to subdue his attacker with the assistance of his mother, who also was on-site working with him, police said.

Oswego Police Chief Jason Bastin, middle, honors Ana Uribe, left, and her son, Sergio Uribe Jr., right,, during a Oswego Village Board on Nov. 4, 2025.

Oswego village officials in November honored the mother and son for their efforts at the scene.

At the Nov. 4 Oswego Village Board meeting, Village President Ryan Kauffman read a proclamation commending the efforts of Sergio Uribe Jr. and Ana Uribe.

Eric Schelkopf

Eric Schelkopf

Eric Schelkopf, who is a Kendall County resident, writes for the Record Newspapers/KendallCountyNow.com, covering Oswego and Plainfield. Schelkopf, who is a Kendall County resident, started with the Kane County Chronicle in December 1988 and appreciates everything the Fox Valley has to offer, including the majestic Fox River.