Addison teen gets probation in air-rifle shooting
An 18-year-old Addison man was admonished Friday for his childish behavior before accepting a plea agreement that keeps him out of jail.
Carlos Lopez-Almaraz of the 600 block of South Iowa Avenue was charged in June with aggravated battery for shooting a Canadian National freight train engineer with an air rifle after apparently getting tired of targeting beer cans.
DuPage Judge Blanche Hill Fawell accepted a plea agreement and sentenced Lopez-Almaraz to one year of probation and 60 hours of community service. Another condition of the agreement requires the air rifle be given to the victim.
Prosecutors said Lopez-Almaraz and a 15-year-old boy were shooting at beer cans about 4:15 p.m. on June 3 near the 400 block of Gregory Avenue in Glendale Heights when they decided to take aim at a passing l train.
The engineer was struck once in the hand, forcing him to stop the train and have the projectile surgically removed.
Officers obtained incriminating statements after they found Lopez-Almaraz and the juvenile in the area where the engineer reported being shot.
“How old are you?” Fawell asked Lopez-Almaraz before sentencing him. “Come on. You’re not 12.”
The 15-year-old boy was referred to juvenile court,