Waukegan man sentenced to 15 years for shooting Fox Lake bouncer

A Waukegan man who pleaded guilty to shooting a bouncer at a Fox Lake tavern fight was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison.

Keith Lee Jr., 23, will be eligible for parole after he serves 85 percent of the sentence handed down by Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti.

Lee pleaded guilty in September to single charges of aggravated battery with a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon, Assistant State's Attorney Dan Kleinhubert said.

Had Lee not accepted the plea deal and been found guilty at trial, he could have been sentenced up to 30 years in prison on the most serious charge, Kleinhubert said. Prosecutors capped Lee's maximum prison sentence at 17 years in exchange for the guilty plea.

Charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number were dropped as part of the plea deal, Kleinhubert said.

Lee has been held in Lake County jail since his arrest after the Feb. 28, 2015, shooting at Pug Mahones Irish Pub & Grill on the 200 block of East Grand Avenue at 2:45 a.m.

Authorities said bouncers escorted Lee and his friends out of the bar after they were involved in a brawl inside. During the commotion, one of Lee's friends was pushed down a flight of stairs and hit his head on a vehicle bumper, authorities said.

Lee pulled out a handgun and fired two rounds, striking bouncer Tim Reid in the right shoulder, authorities said. Lee jumped into the passenger's side of a vehicle and fired two more shots at the bar as the car sped away, authorities said.

Reid was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and was treated and released. The person who was pushed down the stairs was treated and released from Centegra Hospital in McHenry, authorities said.

The vehicle carrying Lee was stopped by police after a person who witnessed the shooting tailed it through Fox Lake, authorities said.