Blaique Morgan Sentenced to 27 Years in Murder of Neighbor

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced Blaique Morgan, 26, of Joliet, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Vincent Cornelius to 27 years in prison in the death of Robert Bielec, his next-door neighbor in 2016. Judge Cornelius found Morgan guilty of two counts of First-Degree Murder on November 14, 2022, following a bench trial that concluded October 31, 2022.

On January 7, 2016, Will County Sheriff’s Police responded to a 9-1-1 call of a deceased male, later identified as Bielec, in the driveway of his residence in the 1700 block of Houston Avenue in Joliet. Officers spoke with Blaique Morgan, who stated he and his brother, Amari Morgan, went to Bielec’s residence to confront him about an ongoing dispute in which the Morgan brothers’ residence was damaged by gunfire, and the brothers suspected Bielec’s involvement.

An argument ensued in which Blaique Morgan grabbed Bielec, and his brother, Amari, struck Bielec with a baseball bat. Will County Sheriff investigators found Nike shoes with blood stains that were later determined to contain Blaique Morgan’s DNA, as well as Adidas shoes with blood stains containing Amari Morgan’s DNA, in green trash bins in front of the house of Blaique Morgan’s ex-girlfriend Bianca Rodriguez on Nicholson Street.

Judge Cornelius ruled although the evidence did not establish Blaique Morgan as the principal actor who delivered the death blow to Bielec, evidence demonstrated he was accountable for the actions of his brother in the attack that led to Bielec’s death.

“Blaique Morgan grabbed a defenseless senior citizen and veteran who still was holding onto his car keys as he was beaten to death with a baseball bat,” Glasgow said. “Although he may not have held the baseball bat, Blaique Morgan was complicit in this extremely violent crime that left a senior, who was not even lifting a hand in self-defense, brutally and fatally bludgeoned in the driveway in front of his own home.”

Morgan will receive 2,724 days credit for time served. He also was sentenced to three years of mandatory supervised release. The sentence will be served at 100 percent.