Waukegan man charged in Beach Park double homicide pleads not guilty
The Waukegan man charged with murder in the shooting deaths of a Beach Park couple pleaded not guilty at a virtual hearing Tuesday morning.
Timothy D. Triplett Jr., of the 2100 block of Georgetown Lane, was indicted last week by a Lake County grand jury in the deaths of Carlos Rodas Perez, 52, and Mercedes Rodas, 49. They were found shot in their garage in December.
Triplett appeared at a virtual hearing Tuesday morning, according to Lake County state's attorney's spokesman Jim Newton. Triplett was supposed to appear before Judge Mark L. Levitt on Monday but refused to leave his jail cell, Newton said.
Triplett has been held in the county jail on $5 million bail since his arrest in January.
Lake County deputies responded to the home of Carlos Rodas Perez and Mercedes Rodas on the 10000 block of West Wadsworth Road at 9:40 p.m. Dec. 8. The deputies tried lifesaving measures, but both Perez and Rodas were pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials.
In a news release last week, prosecutors said they are considering pursuing a natural life sentence for Triplett if he is convicted of the crime.
Triplett's next court hearing is March 16.