Waukegan man pleads guilty to killing girlfriend in front of her daughter
A 25-year-old Waukegan man pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder for gunning down his girlfriend in front of her daughter in January 2015.
Roberto C. Romero, of the 400 block of South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, faces 30 to 60 years in prison when Judge Daniel Shanes sentences him July 19.
Two additional counts of first-degree murder were dismissed in exchange for the guilty plea. Lake County prosecutors also dropped a gun enhancement penalty that could have put Romero behind bars for life.
Romero remains held in the Lake County jail while awaiting sentencing.
He was accused of fatally shooting his live-in girlfriend, Elpidia Munoz-Garcia, 33, on Jan. 2, 2015, at the Taco Bueno Bar in Waukegan. Munoz-Garcia's 9-year-old daughter witnessed the early morning shooting, police said.
Authorities said the shooting came after Munoz-Garcia asked Romero's parents to meet her at the tavern to pick up a gun he had possessed. During the exchange, authorities said, Romero seized the weapon and shot Munoz-Garcia multiple times in the face. She was pronounced dead at a Waukegan hospital.
Romero left the bar, but returned later and was arrested. He admitted to the shooting during questioning, police said.
His attorney, Jed Stone, said he intends to show the court at the sentencing hearing that Romero suffers from mental illness.