Cops: Sugar Grove man shot up signs 'for kicks'

A 24-year-old Sugar Grove man was charged with multiple felonies this week alleging he shot road signs and construction equipment in rural Kane County, police said Thursday.

Gabriel M. Carpenter, of the 0-99 block of Heaton Court, is charged with one count each of reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, both Class 4 felonies, and one misdemeanor count of property damage.

Kane County Sheriff's Lt. Chris Collins said Carpenter was arrested Tuesday after reports of shots fired about 11 p.m. on Wheeler Road in Sugar Grove Township.

Using a vehicle description provided by a witness, police stopped Carpenter less than a mile away and found a handgun magazine and spent shell casings on the driver's side floorboard of his vehicle, authorities said. A 24-year-old passenger, also from Sugar Grove, was questioned but not charged, according to court records.

Collins said an investigation determined that Carpenter had been "out shooting road signs and construction equipment for kicks" with a .40 caliber handgun. According to police, much of the shooting took place near an industrial park along Wheeler Road and a construction zone nearby. No one was hurt.

Carpenter's attorney, Scott Sheen, declined to comment because the matter is pending. His client was released from the county jail after posting $4,000 bond and is due in court July 13.