Man gets 32 years for shooting man to death in Gurnee Mills parking lot

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. — A man received 32 years in prison for shooting a man to death in the Gurnee Mills parking lot nearly three years ago.

Joey Gonzalez, 27, was convicted in June of second-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

In Nov. 2021, Gurnee police responded to a report of shots fired at the Gurnee Mills parking lot. Officers at the scene located Jonathan Denicolas, 26, being aided by a good Samaritan and he later died at the hospital.

Prosecutors noted that Gonzalez opened fire in the parking lot on of the the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

In 2017, Gonzalez was charged with involuntary manslaughter after accidently shooting and killing his friend and went to prison.

Gonzalez was sentenced to 32 years in the 2024 deadly shooting and receives 792 days in credit for time already served. He will have to serve 85% of the sentence, according to the prosecutor’s office.

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