A man has been arrested and charged in the 2021 Thanksgiving weekend fatal shooting in a parking lot of the Gurnee Mills shopping mall, Gurnee police said Tuesday.
Jesse Zumaya, 33, of Hainesville, was arrested July 26 for aggravated battery and unlawful discharge of a firearm in connection with the death of Jonathan Denicolas, 26, of Zion, police said.
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Zumaya is being held in the Lake County jail in lieu of $3 million bail, police said. A warrant for his arrest was issued in May, according to police.
Denicolas was shot on Nov. 27 around 2 p.m. in the parking lot of the mall, which was crowded with shoppers on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. Police said an offender or offenders fired multiple shots, striking Denicolas. The wounded man walked away from the northeast side of the mall toward the Portillo’s restaurant before collapsing in the parking lot.
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He was taken to a hospital, but succumbed to his wounds several hours later. No one else was struck by the gunfire.
At the time, police said they believed that Denicolas was targeted. Police Tuesday did not elaborate on a possible motive for the shooting.
The investigation is ongoing, police said. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Gurnee police department at (847) 599-7000. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the Lake County Crime Stoppers at (847) 662-2222, online at lakecountycrimestoppers.com, or the “P3 Tips” mobile app.
