Attorneys for a Shorewood man facing charges linked to a 2024 mass shooting in Joliet are seeking to get the case tossed over an alleged due process violation by a forensic biologist.

Two motions filed last week by the Joliet law firm Tomczak Law Group have alleged the actions of Illinois State Police forensic biologist William Anselme are serious enough to require a special prosecutor.

A court hearing on those motions may take place some time after Jan. 8.

The motions contend a prosecutor informed the Illinois State Police crime lab of a court order requiring a defense expert for Jon Hansen, 26, to be present for DNA analysis.

Since May 31, 2024, Hansen has been in jail on charges of the first-degree murder of Toyosi Bakare, 28, and the attempted first-degree murder of Mario Guerrero, 44.

Bakare and Guerrero were among nine victims of a 2024 shooting spree carried out by Romeo Nance, 23, of Joliet. The victims also included seven of Nance’s own family members.

The Tomczak Law Group’s motions alleged Anselme had conducted DNA testing that resulted in the “destruction” of a firearm DNA sample before the “defense could observe or test it independently,” which is considered a “violation of due process.”

“The defense has been irreparably prejudiced: there is now no opportunity to conduct an independent examination to verify or challenge the state’s DNA findings or to determine whether contamination, mislabeling or interpretive error occurred,” according to the motion.

Hansen’s attorneys want a special prosecutor to take over the murder case and investigate the conduct of Anselme.

Following the 2024 mass shooting, Nance fled to Texas with the intention of crossing over into Mexico. But Nance instead died by suicide following a confrontation with law enforcement.

The charges against Hansen are holding him accountable for Nance’s shooting of Bakare and Guerrero.

Prosecutors alleged Hansen was with Nance on the day of the shootings and there were text messages indicating his violent intentions to have a confrontation with a gang.

Jeff Tomczak, Hansen’s attorney, contends Hansen was with his pregnant girlfriend while he was with Nance. He said Hansen and his girlfriend were trying to stay alive in the presence of a “homicidal maniac” who was “singing songs about having a shootout with the police.”