Man charged in shooting of parolee celebrating release in Minooka

A southwest suburban man has been charged with a gun crime in connection with the fatal shooting of a parolee Friday night in Minooka who was killed while celebrating his release from prison earlier that day.

Nathan A. Hofkamp, 29, was celebrating with family members around 11:25 p.m. when “a disturbance broke out” inside a home in the 25000 block of Canal Road in the far southwest suburb, according to the Will County sheriff’s office.

James F. Hess, 65, of Channahon, a “live-in acquaintance” of Hofkamp’s mother, got upset and fired a gun, striking Hofkamp in the chest, authorities said. Hess has been charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, the sheriff’s office said, and was being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility.

Hofkamp, who lived in Minooka, was taken to Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, where he was pronounced dead Saturday morning, according to the Will County coroner’s office, which said the death is being investigated as a homicide.

Hofkamp had been released on parole Friday from the downstate Vienna Correctional Center, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. He was serving a two-year sentence for theft and aggravated assault of a peace officer.