Lombard man recovering after being shot during home invasion
A Lombard man is recovering from a gunshot wound he suffered more than a week ago during a home invasion, officials said Monday.
Authorities, meanwhile, are trying to determine why the three people charged with the Aug. 23 crime targeted the Lombard house and another home in Wheaton.
Malik Pitts, 22, of Broadview, Isaiah Johnson, 21, of Blue Island and Keytori Jackson, 22, of Broadview have been charged with attempted murder, home invasion and aggravated battery with a firearm.
Pitts and Johnson are being held in the county jail without bail. Jackson is being held on $500,000 bail.
The charges say that Pitts and Johnson broke into a house in Wheaton shortly after 5 a.m. Aug. 23 and attacked the residents. Jackson then drove them to Lombard, where they attacked a family around 5:23 a.m., according to reports.
Johnson shot a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun twice at the resident of the Lombard home, with one shot hitting the ground and the other going through the man and striking Pitts, authorities said.
Pitts fell into a bush, leaving blood on the leaves, reports said. The DuPage County crime laboratory tested the blood's DNA and found a match in the Combined DNA Index System, which contains DNA collected from criminal offenders, authorities said.
On Monday, Lombard Police Chief Roy Newton said the Lombard resident who was shot is now recuperating at home.
Newton said police are still investigating whether the defendants chose the Lombard house for a specific reason. So far, they have not found a connection, he said.
Paul Darrah, spokesman for the DuPage County state's attorney's office, confirmed that no connection has been found to the Wheaton house, either.
Pitts lived at some point in Wheaton, Darrah said, but he did not know when or for how long.
If convicted of all charges, Johnson could be sentenced to 52 years to life in prison. Jackson and Pitts could be sentenced to a total of 42 to 90 years, Darrah said. All would have to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence before being eligible for parole.
Johnson is on probation for a Cook County conviction for possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Pitts was paroled in January on a charge of aggravated fleeing and eluding in Cook County.