Trial delayed for 2 of 3 men accused in Wauconda home invasion
A September trial will be delayed for two of three men accused of shooting and slashing at a 26-year-old Chicago man in a Wauconda apartment in May, a Lake County judge ruled Monday.
Attorneys for Jose Alfredo Dominguez-Eleperez, 27, of Wheeling, and John A. Nava, 19, of Niles, received permission to push back their respective trial dates to Oct. 6 because, they said, more investigation is needed on the case.
Prosecutors also said they expect attorneys for Noe J. Brito-Ramirez, 22, of Crystal Lake, to also push back his trial when Brito-Ramirez appears before Judge George Bridges on Tuesday.
David Pugh, defense attorney for Dominguez-Eleperez, told Bridges the delay was to round up more witnesses, wait for test results to come back from the state crime lab, and to potentially reach a plea deal before the start of the trial.
Authorities said the victim, his girlfriend, and her three children were in the apartment in the 100 block of Main Street in Wauconda when the three rival gang members knocked on the door about 8:30 p.m.
The three pushed into the apartment when the woman answered the door, then shouted gang slogans while looking for the Chicago man, authorities said.
After the woman placed her children in a washroom, she went to the bedroom where the three gang members were slashing at the male victim with a knife, authorities said.
She tried to intervene in the attack, authorities said, when Dominguez pulled out a handgun and shot the male victim in the chest from 5 feet away. The bullet narrowly missed the woman's face, authorities said.
Police said the woman and her three children were not injured, and the male victim will make a full recovery.
The three men fled the apartment after the shooting, but were captured on May 8, and were charged with home invasion and attempted murder.
All three remain held in Lake County jail on $500,000 bail.
Dominguez-Eleperez faces up to life in prison if found guilty of the charges, while Brito-Ramirez and Nava each face up to 45 years behind bars. Dominguez-Eleperez faces a harsher sentence because he is accused of shooting the victim.
Dominguez-Eleperez and Nava are due back in court Aug. 26 for another case management hearing.