Prosecutors charge alleged Joliet shooter with gun, ammo possession

Will County prosecutors have filed more gun-related charges against a man previously arrested in connection with a Joliet gun attack.

On Dec. 10, Elian Raya, 18, of Joliet was charged with possession of a Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun and ammunition without a valid firearm owner’s identification card, court records show.

The charges stem from Raya’s Nov. 2 arrest in connection with an Aug. 14 shooting near the corner of West Marion and Ivy streets, according to Joliet police.

Joliet officers and members of the Will County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Task Force went to a residence in the 200 block of Comstock Street to apprehend Raya, police said.

“While taking Raya into custody, officers recovered a handgun in plain view near where Raya was located in the residence,” police said.

Officers who responded to the Aug. 14 shooting determined that a passenger in a vehicle opened fire at a vehicle driven by a 21-year-old man, striking it, police said.

Detectives identified Raya as the suspect and secured a warrant for his arrest three days later, police said.

Prosecutors alleged Raya knowingly fired a gun at a Buick LaCrosse occupied by a man, woman and child.

Raya is the brother of Eric Raya, 22, who had once been charged with first-degree murder and arson in connection with a deadly 2017 flare gun attack in Joliet that killed Regina Rogers, 28, Rogers’ 11-month-old daughter, Royalty Rogers, and Jacquetta Rogers, 29.

Prosecutors agreed to drop all charges against Eric Raya in exchange for his testimony against Manuel Escamilla, 22, and Andy Cerros, 22. As part of the deal, Eric Raya also pleaded guilty to obstructing justice in the murder case and aggravated battery in an unrelated incident.

Since then, prosecutors have sought to revoke Eric Raya’s probation after he was arrested in 2019 in Summit on charges of armed robbery, aggravated battery and mob action. His next status hearing has been set for February.

Cerros, who was 17 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to killing the two women and infant. He was sentenced to 32 years in prison. His projected parole date is 2049, when he will be 50.

Escamilla’s case has not yet gone to trial. His next court date is Jan. 4 for either a plea hearing or trial setting. Earlier this year, prosecutors made a plea offer to Escamilla that he neither accepted or rejected.

On Sept. 14, 2019, Elian Raya was wounded in a shooting on Collins Street and fled inside Gonzales Supermarket. His mother, Mady Perez, said at the time that she believed the shooter belonged to the Vice Lords street gang and targeted her son.