Joliet Man Charged With Hickory St. Nightmare Murders Was Worried People Would Think He’s Racist: Prosecutor

After the police found him in a house with two dead black men, alleged Nightmare on Hickory Street murderer Joshua Miner was worried people might think he was a racist, according to a recent court filing by prosecutors.

Miner "expressed concern about being perceived as a racist," said the filing, which was  made in response to a bid by Miner's lawyers to suppress his statements to police.

Those statements, according to police reports obtained exclusively by Patch, included the particularly incriminating, "I did the guy with the dreadlocks," as well as Miner confiding that he and girlfriend Alisa Massaro had sex atop the freshly killed corpses of Terrance Rankins and Eric Glover, both 22.

Miner and Massaro, 20, along with Bethany McKee, 19, and Adam Landerman, 20, all were arrested in January 2013 and charged with murdering Glover and Rankins.

Massaro has since slithered out of the murder case by pleading guilty to robbery and concealing homicides. She agreed to testify against her three pals and in exchange will serve less than four years in prison.

Massaro's testimony may prove crucial if Miner's attorneys succeed in barring his statements to police. Miner's lawyers claim the cops violated his constitutional rights by continuing to question him after he asked for an attorney.

The response filed by Assistant State's Attorney John Connor contends Miner waived his rights and agreed to speak to the police. While Miner did bring up having a lawyer present, the filing said, he did so "in the form of a question, not a statement, and did not lead the officers to believe (he) was invoking his right to counsel."

Miner "indicated a concern with his statements being misinterpreted, and asked the question, 'Is there any way I can get, like, a (public defender) or something?'" the filing said.

When Miner fretted about being thought of as a racist, the filing said, a detective told him, "Well, I mean, they're your rights, man. Only you can label them."

Miner will appear in court Thursday for a hearing on whether his statements can be used against him.

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