A Round Lake man and his teenage brother have been charged in the weekend stabbing death of a Waukegan restaurant owner that followed a loud argument between the owner and the suspects’ mother, who worked at the business, according to authorities and court records.
Iziah Gonzalez, 21, remained Tuesday in the Lake County jail, where he is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Joshua Kirkwood, 51. Kirkwood was fatally stabbed Saturday night during an altercation at his restaurant, Forty One Fourteen Steaks and Seafood on Green Bay Road in Waukegan.
His brother, Jordan Roque, 16, has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder, according to prosecutors and court records.
A petition filed by Lake County prosecutors said Gonzalez and Roque confronted the victim after their mother was heard arguing loudly with Kirkwood.
Gonzalez and his wife, along with Roque and others, were at the restaurant for a gender-reveal party, the petition said. The petition said their mother, who has not been charged, worked at the restaurant as a manager and was also involved in a personal relationship with Kirkwood.
Police said they were called to the business at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday and found Kirkwood, who had been stabbed multiple times and was not responsive. The mother was also at the business, and police said she had a stab wound in the leg.
An employee told police that the mother and Kirkwood were having a “heated discussion” in Kirkwood’s office, and that they often argued. Roque heard the argument and the witness heard him say, “he was going to go downstairs to get his brother and kill Joshua,” the petition said.
“The witness saw (Roque) go downstairs and return upstairs with Iziah. The witness then watched (Roque) pull out a big kitchen knife and stab Joshua,” the petition said.
Gonzalez and his brother left before police arrived. Gonzalez drove to Vista East Medical Center for treatment of a wound to his hand, letting Roque off before entering the hospital, police said.
Police said they tracked Roque to his grandfather’s house in Waukegan, though the youth was not there when police arrived. However, police said they found the mother’s SUV parked in the driveway, and that a digital video recorder was seen inside the vehicle; police suspect the device came from the restaurant.
According to reports, Kirkwood was the son of Roudell Kirkwood, a former Waukegan alderman. The detention hearing for Gonzalez is scheduled for Wednesday. Roque appeared in court Tuesday and is scheduled for a detention hearing Thursday.