Convicted murderer held nurse, officer hostage at Joliet hospital

A convicted murderer held a nurse and a correctional officer hostage for less than an hour early Wednesday at a Joliet hospital, the second time a prisoner took hostages at a west suburban hospital in less than a month.

Joshua Matthews, 32, was taken by ambulance from Stateville Correctional Center to Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

At 3:35 a.m. Wednesday, Matthews pulled out a makeshift weapon and told an assigned correctional officer and a certified nurse’s assistant that they were being held hostage, according to the statement.

The Joliet Police Department responded to the scene at 3:55 a.m., and Matthews was taken into custody less than an hour later, at 4:20 a.m., according to the statement. No injuries were reported.

Matthews is serving a 100-year sentence for a DuPage County murder at Stateville, according to IDOC records. He has been in prison since Feb. 24, 2011, and previously served two four-year sentences for robbery and aggravated battery.

The IDOC is investigating the incident along with Joliet police and hospital staff.

The incident marks the second time in less than one month that a prisoner held hostages at a west suburban hospital. On May 13, Tywon Salters held two nurses hospital at Delnor Hospital in Geneva. A federal lawsuit filed by the nurses claims one of the nurses was sexually assaulted during the ordeal.