The man accused of setting Chicago’s beloved ‘Walking Man’ on fire while he slept helpless on a city street will serve nearly 50 years in prison after admitting guilt in the deadly unprovoked attack, prosecutors confirmed Thursday.
Joseph Guardia had a trial tentatively scheduled this week for the murder of Joseph Kromelis, but the 30-year-old Melrose Park man instead accepted a plea deal Wednesday on first-degree murder charges.
Guardia must serve 100 percent of his 47-year prison sentence and would be 70 years old before he can be released. He will, however, be credited for the 881 days he has spent in prison since his arrest.
Kromelis, a typically dapper dresser often seen walking alone on the streets of downtown Chicago, was attacked before 3 a.m. on May 25, 2022, while sleeping on the sidewalk in the 400 block of North Lower Wabash Avenue.
He died a few months later at age 75.
During this week’s hearing, prosecutors read a victim impact statement from Kromelis’ sister. The woman, Erika “Ricky” Singree of Alaska, died Sunday just days after her 80th birthday. She was Kromelis’ only living sister.
Her daughter, Jami, who also lives in Alaska and attended the Cook County court hearing via video conference, said she often told her mother stories about Kromelis’ impact on Chicagoans.
“My heart is broken,” the elder Singree wrote in her statement. “My brother loved Chicago. He had his routine of walking the streets. He wanted to be left alone. He never hurt anyone. He was an angel with wings.
Kromelis, a former traveling salesman who preferred to stay alone, traveled the city every day and in all weathers. When a man wielding a bat attacked him in May 2016, the incident generated more than $30,000 in donations and a charity t-shirt drive that raised an additional $6,000 to help Kromelis get back on your feet.
The final, haunting assault on Kromelis in 2022 was captured on camera by a nearby hotel’s security surveillance system. Authorities released video footage of her attacker showing a large dollar sign tattooed on his cheek, and police arrested Guardia two days later. They said he was wearing the same clothes seen in the video.
Guardia told police in a recorded interview that he found a cup filled with gasoline and set a pile of blankets on fire, according to court records. Guardia said he didn’t know a person was under the covers, but prosecutors said Kromelis’ head and lower legs were visible.
As for the motive, Guardia said only that it was “an angry person.”
Many legal proceedings since his arrest have focused on Guardia’s past hospitalizations and his mental health.
A Tribune review of public records found that Guardia had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was frequently hospitalized for suicidal thoughts. He has been the subject of more than two dozen arrests in three states related to allegations of battery, burglary, theft, reckless driving and retail theft.
In a statement, his attorney with the Cook County Public Defender’s Office said Guardia requested a plea of ”guilty but of mental illness” but attorneys did not reach an agreement.
“Mr. Guardia suffers from mental illness and has received treatment on and off since the age of 15,” the statement said. “He is currently receiving appropriate medication in prison and hopes to continue his treatment in (prison).”
Guardia made no statements during his sentencing, his lawyer said.
The Tribune interviewed Ricky Singree last year for a lengthy article about Kromelis’ life and final weeks. Closest to him in age among his siblings, Singree described his brother as kind, gentle and intelligent. She hadn’t seen him much since moving to Alaska in 1974, but Singree described him as being too proud to ask for help.
In her posthumous victim impact statement, she spoke directly with Guardia.
“I hope you can live with yourself (for) what you did,” she wrote. “There was no reason to hurt an innocent man who wanted to rest. My brother wanted peace, to wake up the next day to continue living his life. But you made a choice and you took it from him.
“There will be no more stories of Joseph Kromelis walking the streets of Chicago. My beloved brother: rest in peace.
Guardia entered his plea before Judge Timothy Joyce at the Leighton Criminal Court building.
cmgutowski@chicagotribune.com
