Vernon Hills man convicted in fatal 2021 Gurnee shooting

Joey Gonzalez

A 27-year-old Vernon Hills man was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges involving the 2021 shooting death of a Zion man in a Gurnee Mills parking lot.

Following a five-day trial in Lake County Circuit Court, Joey Gonzalez was also found guilty last Friday of two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, three counts one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm and one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. according to a press release from the Lake County State's Attorney's Office.

Gurnee Police were called on November 27, 2021 to a report of shots fired in the Gurnee Mills parking lot. Officers found Zion resident Jonathan Denicolas, 26, being helped by a good Samaritan. He later died from his injuries.

According to the press release, authorities discovered through phone records, eyewitnesses and surveillance videos that Denicolas arranged a meeting with Gonzalez on the day of the shooting. Gonzalez was arrested in August 2022 by the U.S. Marshals Service's Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Gonzalez took the stand in his own defense and claimed self-defense, although there is no evidence that Denicolas shot Gonzalez and no weapons were recovered in the area, according to the office of the state attorney.

His next court hearing is scheduled for August 2.

Gonzalez was the second person charged in the shooting. In July 2022, Jesse Zumaya, then 33, of Hainesville was charged with aggravated battery and unlawful discharge of a firearm in connection with the case, according to the State's Attorney's Office. His case is pending.