Three charged with firing guns recklessly near Big Rock

Three men have been accused of firing guns recklessly, in the middle of Tuesday afternoon, near a house in Big Rock Township.

And one is also charged with trying to escape from police in a high-speed chase.

Carl Witt, 30, of the 6100 block of Dover Court, Oswego, is charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon on parole; criminal damage to government property; aggravated unlawful use of a weapon; reckless discharge of a firearm; aggravated fleeing and eluding police; and unlawful possession of cannabis by a driver, all felony charges, according to Kane County court records.

Logan Thomas, 22, of the 1100 block of Quail Run Avenue in Bolingbrook, is charged with armed violence; criminal damage to government property; aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon; possession of a controlled substance; and reckless discharge of a weapon, all felonies.

Christopher Willoughby, 31, of the 0-100 block of Anderson Street in Aurora, is charged with possession of a weapon by a felon; aggravated unlawful use of a weapon; and reckless discharge of a firearm.

The shooting happened at about 3:30 p.m. on the 9S500 block of Jones Road, according to the Kane County Sheriff’s Office.

Nobody was hurt.

Kane County assistant state’s attorney Ruth Wahlstra told Judge John Barsanti Friday that a woman called 911 to report hearing handgun and rifle shots outside her house, and finding 30 to 40 shell casings. The woman said several men got in to an older-model white Cadillac sedan, with black trim, and left.

Around 5:19 p.m., a law-enforcement street camera noticed a 1997 Cadillac matching that description and officers tried to stop it.

The car instead sped off. It failed to stop at two stop signs and two red lights, driving 87 mph in a 40 mph zone, and into oncoming traffic, Wahlstra said.

Authorities deflated its tires with spikes, and a squad struck the car to stop it.

Wahlstra requested that all three men be detained in jail before their trials.

“Clearly he (Thomas) is a danger to the community, as he was just shooting for no apparent reason in the middle of the afternoon,” Wahlstra said.

A lawyer for Thomas argued there was no proof he was in the car at the time of the shooting, but Wahlstra said a co-defendant had told deputies Thomas was present.

Willoughby’s attorney, Seth McClure, argued there was insufficient evidence that Willoughby had touched or fired the guns, and that the backpack in which the guns were found belonged to Thomas and was next to Thomas in the back seat. He said probation paperwork and a ticket in the backpack had Thomas’ name on them. Willoughby was riding in the front passenger seat, McClure said.

Wahlstra countered that Willoughby had told police he shot the guns.

Witt is accused of possessing cannabis. Thomas is accused of possession alprazolam, an anti-anxiety drug, without a prescription.

Barsanti ordered Thomas and Willoughby detained pretrial.

Witt’s pretrial detention hearing was continued to Jan. 28. He requested the continuance because a parole hold has been placed on him. State prison records show Witt is on parole for a domestic battery case.