Joliet man accused of unintentional fatal shooting of driver in Romeoville

A Joliet man is accused of unintentionally killing another man in Romeoville by racking the slide of a firearm that was pointed in the slain man’s direction.

Will County prosecutors charged Adrian Bailey, 20, of the 300 block of Union Avenue, with the involuntary manslaughter of Dennis Lee, 24, on Sept. 8 in Romeoville.

Bailey has been in jail since Friday afternoon. His bond was set at $500,000.

On Monday, Bailey’s case was continued to Oct. 4 for a preliminary hearing but a grand jury may likely return an indictment before then.

Romeoville Deputy Police Chief Brant Hromadka said on Monday that Lee was the driver of a vehicle and Bailey was one of the passengers. He said Bailey was handling a firearm that went off and struck Lee.

Prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint that Bailey unintentionally killed Lee when he “racked the slide of a firearm, which was pointed in the direction of” Lee as he was driving a vehicle.

Bailey “discharged said firearm, causing a projectile discharged from the firearm to strike Dennis Lee, thereby causing the death of Dennis Lee,” the criminal complaint said.

Bailey also faces charges of possession of firearm without a firearm owner’s identification card and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Bailey would not be eligible for a FOID card regardless as he was adjudicated as a delinquent minor for the offense of robbery in a 2017 Will County juvenile case, according to the complaint.

The wounded Lee was found by officers sitting in the front passenger seat of a car parked on Autumn Woods Lane near Weslake Park on Sept. 8, Romeoville police said. He was taken to AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center in Bolingbrook, where he died.

Romeoville Police Chief Ken Kroll confirmed Lee was pulled into the passenger seat. He said his department’s investigation and some surveillance video from a local business indicate Lee was moved after being shot.

Bailey is in the midst of fighting to get back $2,134 seized by police in May.

Prosecutors filed a forfeiture complaint alleging the money was “criminally derived” in connection with a Paycheck Protection Program scam.

Bailey, on the other hand, claimed the money was given to him by his mother, Konika Morrow, for “expenses and other obligations.”