advertisement

Guilty plea from trigger man in Glen Ellyn home invasion

A reputed street gang member who authorities believe was the trigger man in a gruesome 2009 home invasion near Glen Ellyn pleaded guilty to attempted murder charges Thursday.

James R. Kral, 21, of Glen Ellyn accepted a plea agreement that could put him behind bars for the next 60 years. A DuPage County judge will hand down a sentence in the coming months, but the least Kral can get is 18 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Kral pleaded guilty to breaking into a home on the 800 block of Busch Road a year ago Saturday. He was with two other men, said Prosecutor Joe Lindt. The trio demanded drugs and money from a couple watching television inside the home. When a third occupant of the house appeared with a gun, Kral opened fire on the couple. He shot an unidentified 20-year-old woman in the face just below the eye and a 23-year-old man four times. The man suffered bullet wounds to the face and arm.

Prosecutor Steve Knight said the couple had been bound with duct tape when Kral opened fire on them.

Lindt said the man has recovered, but the woman is still suffering vision problems.

In the fracas, one of Kral's cohorts was shot by the other man in the house and was arrested after seeking treatment at a hospital. Alejandro Roman, 18, of Chicago, was arrested following an interview with police for his part in the crime. Authorities said Roman led investigators to Kral, but not a third man involved in the break-in who has yet to be apprehended. Roman's case is still pending, Lindt said.

Kral pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder and one count of home invasion. Whatever the sentence, Kral will have to serve 85 percent of the prison time, Lindt said. Kral has been held at the DuPage County jail in Wheaton since his Nov. 7, 2009 arrest.