Elgin man acquitted of involuntary manslaughter

After more than seven hours of deliberation, a Cook County jury acquitted an Elgin man of involuntary manslaughter in the July 4, 2011, shooting death of 18-year-old Guillermo Pineda.

However, the nine-man, three-woman jury convicted Donald Rattanavong, a former Buddhist monk and the married father of three, on the lesser charge of reckless discharge of a firearm, a class 4 felony punishable by one to three years in prison. Probation is also available.

“Murderer,” muttered Pineda’s 20-year-old sister Lissette Pineda as Cook County Sheriff’s deputies took the 58-year-old Rattanavong into custody after Judge Kay Hanlon revoked his bail following Thursday’s verdict.

Rattanavong testified that he never intentionally pointed his weapon at anyone and that he shot into the air to scare away Pineda and his friends, who Rattanavong believed were trying to break into cars parked in his driveway and in the street on the 800 block of Arthur Drive.

Pineda’s friend and Elgin High School classmate Alex Ervin, 17, admitted under oath that he and Pineda had been stealing items from unlocked cars that evening but says they had stopped burglarizing cars by the time they approached Rattanavong’s house. No charges have been filed against the teens.

While tragic, Pineda’s death was not a crime, said defense attorney Lewis Gainor.

The jury “found they could not blame him (Rattanavong) for Guillermo Pineda’s death,” said Gainor, who suspects the Trayvon Martin case may have been at the back of some jurors’ minds. In that case, a special prosecutor on Thursday announced second-degree murder charges against George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain from Sanford, Fla., who claims he shot the unarmed Florida teenager in self-defense.

Prosecutors say they accept the jury’s decision.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Guillermo Pineda,” said Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Clarke.

Gainor plans to request probation at Rattanavong’s sentencing scheduled for May 11.

“My client shouldn’t do a day in jail,” said Gainor, pointing out that his client, a longtime U.S. citizen, has no criminal background.

Members of the Rattanavong and Pineda families declined to speak with reporters. Relations between the two families — who live near each other — have been tense, said Gainor, who said he believes his client wants to apologize but “doesn’t feel he can do that safely.”

Bill Hunter, who’s engaged to one of Rattanavong’s daughters, spoke with a friend of Pineda’s family and expressed his condolences.

Both sides have suffered, said Hunter.

“Two families have suffered a loss. I hope some good can be made of this,” he said.