Montgomery man pleads guilty to shooting wife during car chase

Gloria Johncours will never forget the day her ex-husband shot her in the head during a terrifying car chase through a Lake in the Hills neighborhood.

Ongoing pain, seizures and the bullet lodged in her head will make sure of that.

But the Lake in the Hills woman now can forget about him ever harming her again.

A McHenry County judge Tuesday sentenced her former husband, Edward R. Johncours, to 31 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder for the April 2, 2007, shooting that nearly claimed the life of his wife of more than four decades.

Instead, it likely will cost the 67-year-old Johncours freedom for the rest of his life as neither authorities nor his ex-wife expect him to make it out of prison alive.

"I don't want him ever on the street again," Gloria Johncours said. "The main thing now is I can go on with my life and he has no control over it."

Under terms of the deal, Johncours must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, about 25 years factoring in credit for time served since his arrest last April. Johncours, of Southwest suburban Montgomery, would be about 92 years old before he is eligible for parole.

"It's a life and death sentence as far as I'm concerned," McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi said. "(The case) is another example of how bad domestic violence can be."

Edward Johncours, seated in a wheelchair and his hands shaking badly at times, did not speak during the court proceedings except to say "yes" when asked if he understood his plea agreement and the consequences of his guilty plea. His attorney declined to comment.

The shooting culminated years of threats.

Since she filed for divorce in 2001, records show that Gloria Johncours obtained three separate orders of protection against her ex-husband alleging he repeatedly threatened to kill her.

In one filing, she said Edward Johncours rammed his vehicle into the rear of her car at an intersection near the McHenry County courthouse, then tried to push her into oncoming traffic on heavily traveled Route 47.

Gloria Johncours said Tuesday she had no doubt her husband would eventually try to end her life.

"I knew someday he'd shoot me or kill me," she said.

The 2007 shooting, authorities said, was motivated by ongoing legal disputes related to the couple's divorce. Although the divorce became final in 2003, the couple continued to fight over financial matters.

The shooting occurred the afternoon of April 2, 2007, when Gloria Johncours, a real estate agent, left a home she was planning to sell in northwestern Lake in the Hills and noticed her husband following her. As she tried to evade him, authorities said, Edward Johncours began shooting at her vehicle as they drove through the residential area.

When the pursuit turned on to Miller Road near Haligus Road, witnesses said, Johncours pulled his car alongside his former wife's and fired again, striking her at least once in the head.

As short time later, a Huntley police officer responding to the shooting spotted Edward Johncours' vehicle near Haligus and Scott Drive in Huntley and pulled him over. Johncours parked his car, police said, then fired one shot into his chest in what authorities say was a failed suicide attempt.

Gloria Johncours spent more than two weeks hospitalized in critical condition after the incident and has been told by doctors she is lucky to be alive.

The bullet lodged in her head is proof of that. Doctors do not want to remove the bullet, fearing it could disrupt her ability to speak.

"I shouldn't be here," she said. "If you're looking for a miracle, I'm it."