Man accused of hiding Antioch woman’s body held in Lake County jail days after being ordered deported

A Lake County judge has ordered Jose Luis Mendoza-Gonzalez, who is charged with hiding the body of 37-year-old Megan Bos in a garbage container, held in the county jail.

The decision was made Thursday during a detention hearing, days after Mendoza-Gonzalez was ordered deported by an immigration judge in Indiana.

Mendoza-Gonzalez is charged in Lake County with concealment of a death, abuse of a corpse, obstructing justice and concealment of a homicidal death in connection with the death of Megan Bos. The latter charge was recently added.

Judge Daniel Shanes ruled Mendoza-Gonzalez was a flight risk, given he declared his desire to be deported to Mexico during previous immigration hearings.

A status date has been set for Nov. 4. The judge said Mendoza-Gonzalez can appeal the detention order.

Mendoza-Gonzalez had been granted pretrial release on the original charges, but was subsequently picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Prosecutor Jeffrey Facklam argued Mendoza-Gonzalez should be held because of the nature of the new charge, a Class 3 felony.

He added Mendoza-Gonzalez had been working under an alias and if he is released, he could be deported before the criminal case goes to trial.

Mendoza-Gonzalez’s attorney, Jillian Kassel, pointed out her client, prior to his being detained by ICE, had not shown signs of being a flight risk, having attended his Lake County hearings and complied with the terms of his pretrial release.

Shanes expressed his appreciation of the cooperation between Lake County and federal law enforcement officials.

“Whatever happens with immigration is between you and the federal government,” Shanes told Mendoza-Gonzalez, warning him of the consequences of absences from future hearings.

Watching the hearing unfold was Megan Bos’ mother, Jennifer Bos, joined by Megan’s sister, Khileigh Kozak, and her biological father, Lloyd Kozak.

When the judge made the ruling, Jennifer Bos said, she wanted to hug the judge and the ICE agents.

“If he wasn't detained today, he would have gone back to Indiana with ICE, and they would have immediately proceeded with the deportation proceedings, and he would have been sent back to Mexico as soon as possible,” she said.

Mendoza-Gonzalez was charged following a near monthlong investigation into Bos’ disappearance.

Bos was reported missing in March. On April 10, Mendoza-Gonzalez met with detectives and said Bos visited his Waukegan home Feb. 19 but left afterward, officials said.

When pressed on his statements, he admitted her body was in a container in his yard on Yeoman Street, authorities said.

Mendoza-Gonzalez told police Bos used drugs then appeared to overdose in his basement, authorities said. He told investigators he was afraid of getting in trouble, so he kept her body in his basement for a few days before moving it to the container, according to police.

Jennifer Bos has been outspoken in her opposition to the SAFE-T Act, which gives judges limited options for granting pretrial release.

After ICE agents took Mendoza-Gonzalez into custody in July, she speculated a visit to Washington, D.C., to watch President Donald Trump sign the HALT Fentanyl Act may have played a role in Mendoza-Gonzalez’s capture. She said after passing a note to House Speaker Mike Johnson during the ceremony, she briefly spoke to the president about her daughter’s case.

As he was leaving the room, Trump turned around and told her, “You watch what happens,” she said.

Mendoza-Gonzalez was arrested by ICE agents days later.