Wheaton man charged with firing rifle at neighboring house

For the second time in less than a month, a 35-year-old Wheaton man is in trouble on a gun-related charge.

Police apprehended John S. Exiner, of the 400 block of South Wheaton Avenue, after neighbors called officers at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and said they heard a loud popping sound and then found three bullet holes in their South Hale Street home.

Police said one of the bullets traveled through the wall of a bedroom where a family member was sleeping. A mother and her 14-year-old daughter who were in the home were not injured.

Police arrested Exiner and charged him with aggravated discharge of a firearm. He also faces two charges of reckless discharge of a firearm and one count of criminal damage to property stemming from two incidents in March.

In court Friday, prosecutors say Exiner’s 10-year-old daughter told investigators her father told her the popping sounds she heard were “only fireworks.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Nick Catizone said the daughter also said she discovered a long brown case that Exiner told her contained a set of golf clubs. A further search determined it was a gun case for Exiner’s rifle.

Police found shell casings and a receipt for the gun purchase.

The shooting comes less than a month after a warrant was issued for Exiner’s arrest after two separate occurrences on March 28.

Assistant State’s Attorney Nick Catizone said Exiner is suspected of shooting his .22-caliber rifle and striking the rear bumper of a 2002 Toyota Highlander traveling near the intersection of Wheaton Avenue and Evergreen Street, about one block south of Exiner’s first-floor apartment.

Catizone said the vehicle was occupied by two adults and three children at the time. That same day, Exiner is accused of firing the rifle in an area where a man was walking, court records show.

DuPage County Judge Michael Wolfe said the existing bail on the old warrant was $50,000 and he set bail at $250,000 on the more recent case.

Exiner told the judge he works in sales and made about $50,000 last year.

Ÿ Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer Josh Stockinger contributed to this report.