‘Gallons Of Blood’ Poured From Joliet Murder Victim: Brother

JOLIET, IL — Hours before watching his 20-year-old brother Nathan Ballard die in front of him from a gunshot wound to his chest, the Ballard brothers were “just hanging out, chilling, waiting for the night to come around,” the now-31-year-old testified Wednesday afternoon during the murder trial for Anthony Francimore of Joliet.

Assistant Will County State’s Attorney Christine Vukmir presented the jury with a photograph of Nathan Ballard holding a giant muskie he caught on a fishing trip.

“I was extremely close to my brother,” the older sibling testified.

Nathan Ballard’s life ended shortly after 1 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2018, not far from his brother’s house in the 500 block of Fox Street, near Highland Park, on Joliet’s far east side. An East Joliet ambulance rushed the shooting victim to Silver Cross Hospital, where he died.

Oct. 27, 2018 marked Nathan Ballard’s last day alive.

“Throughout the day, he was trying to get the drugs,” the brother testified. “It’s called ecstasy, it’s also known as a happy pill.”

The prosecution witness testified that his brother arranged to purchase the ecstasy from someone he knew, Anthony Francimore. From the witness stand, the victim’s brother pointed to Francimore as the person whose face he recognized from Facebook, five years ago.

“Nathan did show me a photo of the person, yes,” he told the jury.

According to trial testimony, Francimore was paid $75 for the drug transaction.

“We, all four us, pitched in,” the older brother testified.

Around 1 a.m., both brothers went outside, using their back door.

Scared for everyone’s safety, the Ballard brothers did not exit their front door facing Fox Street. Instead, they met up with Francimore a couple of houses down, closer to Highland Avenue.

“We walked along the side and the back toward Highland Avenue,” the witness testified.

“I had the money. I had asked him, ‘Are you sure you trust these people?'” he recalled asking his younger brother. “We proceeded to the backyard … our backyard was very well lit up due to the vehicle having its lights on.”

Prosecutor Vukmir asked the murder victim’s brother to describe the young man who was supposed to sell them the ecstasy.

“Around 20 years old … white male that looked exactly like my brother’s appearance,” he told the jury. “I had never met this man in my life.”

After Nathan Ballard gave his money to Francimore, Francimore walked back to the car without providing the ecstasy.

“He immediately opened the back door and got into it … specifically, the passenger side, behind the driver,” the victim’s brother testified. “I sensed something wasn’t right, so I wanted to take pictures of that vehicle.”

“Did you say anything to your brother? What did you say at this time?” Vukmir asked her witness.

He recalled asking his younger brother if he received the ecstasy pills, which he had not.

Suddenly, the driver put the vehicle into reverse. As the car began to drive away, the older brother noticed one of the dark tinted windows roll down”and a gun was put in my face.”

He managed to photograph the front license plate. He later shared the photo with Will County Sheriff’s deputies.

The person with the gun was not Francimore, it was a front seat passenger who was Black and had long dreadlocks, he testified.

“I did not see his face, but I recognize him as a Black male with dreads.”

After he raised his hands into the air, the person with the gun did not shoot him. And as the car pulled away, he turned to his brother and remarked, “I thought you said you trusted them.”

That’s when he heard a hail of gunshots, prompting him to take cover on the ground.

“The shots were fired within about 5 feet of my back,” he estimated. “It was very close.”

The prosecution’s witness hunched down, then sprinted away from the line of gunfire.

When he looked back, he saw his brother still standing there.

“Are you hit? Are you hit? Are you hit?” he kept asking his younger brother.

Nathan Ballard was unable to speak. He had taken a bullet to his chest.

“Just gallons and gallons of blood came out of his mouth, like he knew it was done,” the victim’s brother recalled. “I was freaking out. I started screaming for my fiancée.”

Moments later, to his astonishment, the getaway car came back briefly, before speeding off into the night.

“We had to sprint away from Nathan’s body,” he testified.

Will County Sheriff’s police arrived at the shooting “within a few minutes.”

During Wednesday’s trial, Vukmir showed the jury a handful of photos taken at the shooting.

“This is my brother bleeding out … it’s very morbid, but I wanted to capture that photo. I couldn’t, my hands were too wet,” he told the courtroom.

Because his hands were soaked with his brother’s blood, he was not able to hold his phone. His fiancée took the photos, he testified.

After the shooting, the witness furnished Will County Sheriff’s Investigator Alan Beckman the password to access his deceased brother’s iPhone. The phone contained conversations on Facebook between the victim and Francimore regarding plans for their drug transaction, according to Beckman.

During his testimony, Beckman was asked why the victim’s phone was important to solving the homicide.

“The victim’s phone hopefully would have Mr. Francimore on there, and in this case it did,” Beckman told the jury.

While interviewing Francimore, Beckman acknowledged he used the slang terms “lick” and “a rip.”

“It’s meant as a robbery or to rob someone,” Beckman testified.

When asked by the public defenders why he did not advise their client that he was being investigated for felony murder, Beckman replied, “I don’t charge things. The Will County State’s Attorney decides charges.”

According to this week’s testimony, Francimore’s co-defendant, Elijah “Eli” Watson, who has yet to stand trial, was responsible for killing Nathan Ballard.