Joliet Murder Defendant Freed From Will Co. Jail, He's Chicago Bound

JOLIET ? After spending the past 10 days inside his Will County Jail cell reflecting on his first-degree charges in the shooting death of 42-year-old Pine Street resident Everett "TY" Cole, Kendrick Pullen is headed home, back to the city of Chicago.

Pullen had been in the Will County Jail since Oct. 11, when Joliet police took him into custody.

On Monday, at 4:20 p.m., Pullen re-emerged from the Will County Jail.

Pullen's release from the Will County Jail, ordered by Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak, was a major setback for the Will County State's Attorney's Office and Jim Glasgow

Glasgow's team of prosecutors had filed a petition to deny pretrial release for Pullen last week, but the judge decided to let Pullen out of the Will County Jail.

"TY reached towards his right hip, Pullen pushed TY and BJ out of the way and grabbed a gun near the chimney area and shot TY three to four times," prosecutor Tricia McKenna said in last week's filing. "Pullen said the gun he used was not his and it was more of a house gun to keep the house safe."

While Pullen remains free, he is prohibited from having contact with people in Will County except for his future court matters, the judge's ruling noted.

Last week, Joliet Patch broke the news, revealing key details of Cole's homicide, which happened inside a house on Joliet's east side the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 5.

As Cole's 65-year-old father waited in their parked vehicle just a couple of houses down the street, Everett Cole Jr. suffered multiple gunshot wounds before collapsing and dying in the front entrance of 830 Wenberg St.

As for Pullen, the 21-year-old first-degree murder defendant is being represented by private defense counsel, lawyers Jerry King and Marisa Bondi from the downtown Joliet law firm King & Bondi.

According to the prosecution's filing, Everett Cole Jr. had one gunshot to his chest and another to his stomach. One of the several eyewitnesses to the shooting later told Joliet police that "he was at the residence trying to get high when Everett came in, kicked the female's date out, and came upstairs. Everett came into the kitchen and told everyone else they had to get out. (Pullen) yelled, 'Move, move,' and shot him four or five times," according to prosecutors.

About five minutes prior to his murder, Everett Cole Jr. told his father he was "gonna have to knock this (woman) out," prosecutors said. Everett Cole Sr. believed his son was referring to a woman who owed him money, according to the petition.

"Everett Jr. was gone for approximately three minutes when Everett Sr. heard several gunshots," prosecutors noted.