Jury still out in Elgin shooting case
As the trial of an Elgin man charged with involuntary manslaughter in the July 4, 2011 shooting death of 18-year-old Guillermo Pineda drew to its close Wednesday, prosecutors asked jurors to consider what constitutes justifiable action.
“This isn't the Wild West,” said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Shilpa Patel. “A person can't just exit his home, brandishing a loaded gun.”
Patel argued that Donald Rattanavong's actions were not justified when he fired a .25 caliber handgun because he wanted to scare away some teens he believed were trying to breaking into family vehicles parked in his driveway and alongside his residence in the 800 block of Arthur Drive.
A jury began deliberating about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday at the Rolling Meadows courthouse but had not reached a verdict late in the evening.
A bullet from Rattanavong's gun struck the Elgin High School senior in the left temple, killing him. Rattanavong, 58, testified that he didn't intentionally point his weapon at anyone, but later acknowledged under cross examination that firing his gun was a bad decision. During lengthy testimony, the married father of three said he yelled at the teens to get away from his property, then raised his left arm to eyebrow level and fired three shots. Published reports indicated Rattanavong told police he fired into the air.
“Everyone was at risk when he chose to fire that gun” in a residential neighborhood, said Patel, arguing that while the use of deadly force is permissible to protect one's property during a burglary, no burglary was taking place at the time of the shooting.
Pineda's friend, 17-year-old Alex Ervin, admitted he and Pineda were taking property from unlocked cars in the neighborhood, but said they had stopped by the time they reached Rattanavong's house. Neither he nor Pineda approached Rattanavong's driveway or the cars, Ervin testified.
Rattanavong disputed Ervin's account, saying he saw one teen standing on his driveway near his yellow BMW and another on the sidewalk.
“What happened here is the defendant shot first and thought about it later,” Patel said.
Patel argued the teens never came close to committing a burglary and that Rattanavong thus had no justification to fire his weapon.
“Your actions have to be tempered and reasonable. His actions weren't reasonable,” she said.
Defense attorney Lewis Gainor disagreed and insisted authorities were scapegoating his client and “playing politics with his life.”
Gainor challenged the credibility of Pineda's three high school classmates who were with him that night, calling them a “motley crew” and questioning their claims that although Pineda and Ervin had stolen property from four or five unlocked cars earlier that evening, they had stopped by the time they reached Rattanavong's house.
“For them to say they stopped burglarizing cars is a lie,” Gainor said, adding that the law allows people to defend their property.
“You do not have to become a victim,” he said. “You do not have to stand by and let somebody else commit a crime against your property.”
Accidents happen and people die but that doesn't make a person a criminal, Gainor said.
Guillermo Pineda's death was tragic, he said, adding, “it's a mistake and excessive but it's not a crime.”
If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Rattanavong could be sentenced to two to five years in prison. If he's convicted on charges of reckless discharge of a firearm, he faces between one and three years in prison. In both cases, probation is an option.