Prairie Grove man rescued from Lake Michigan pleads guilty to forcing woman into his car while armed

A Prairie Grove man has pleaded guilty to unlawful restraint after authorities say he forced a woman into his truck at gunpoint and then shot at a building in Lake County.

McHenry County prosecutors said Nicholas Biagio Cammarata, 46, forced a woman into his truck after an argument and drove to Grayslake, where she fled. Later, according to court records, Biagio Cammarata fired his gun into a Grayslake dental office, then drove to Winthrop Harbor, launched his boat into Lake Michigan and had to be rescued when it capsized, records show.

Biagio Cammarata pleaded guilty May 30 in McHenry County court to felony unlawful restraint and was sentenced to three years in prison, according to an order signed by Judge Tiffany Davis.

He also pleaded guilty to violating an order of protection that the woman later filed against him; he was sentenced to jail time served and fined, according to the order.

On Sept. 10, after a day of fishing and drinking alcohol, authorities said Biagio Cammarata and the woman argued, and Biagio Cammarata pushed her, causing her to fall and injure her tailbone, court records show.

Prosecutors said he then forced her into his truck “by threat of force while armed with a firearm and drove into Lake County,” according to a motion.

Biagio Cammarata drove to an industrial park in Grayslake and, when he exited the car, the woman saw a gun in his rear waistband, authorities said. She then exited, ran from the truck, found Grayslake officers and reported the incident, court records show.

About 5 a.m., Winthrop Harbor police saw Biagio Cammarata’s truck enter the North Point Marina on Lake Michigan, where he launched the boat hitched to his truck, court records show.

Authorities said the truck was running, and the door was left open. Inside, officers said they found “alcoholic beverages and a pipe with burnt leafy green residue in plain view. Officers also entered the truck to pull it off the boat launch and observed an empty 9-mm magazine and multiple live 9-mm rounds in the center console,” records show.

Biagio Cammarata was rescued, treated by the Winthrop Harbor Fire Department and taken to a hospital.

He is required to serve half his prison term followed by six months of mandatory supervised release. He is receiving credit for about 110 days in the county jail, according to the judgment order.