Aurora man gets 18 years in Warrenville party shooting

A man began serving an 18-year prison term Tuesday for opening fire during a Warrenville house party where three people were wounded after a dispute over a spilled drink turned violent.

Ignacio C. Rosario must serve 85 percent of the prison sentence before being elible for parole. The 32-year-old Aurora man maintains his innocence and vowed to appeal.

Police rushed to the Thornwilde-Edgebrook neighborhood at 3 a.m. Oct. 6, 2007, to reports of gunfire.

Three partygoers, including the defendant's sister, sustained noncritical wounds. Three children, ages 11, 5, and 1, who were sleeping upstairs during the party, were not physically injured.

Witnesses said the shooter fled the Birchwood Lane house on foot. Officers quickly barricaded the central neighborhood. Minutes later, they arrested Rosario after finding him hiding in a wooded area. His 15-year-old niece was with him.

Several hours later, police recovered the 9 mm semiautomatic handgun in bushes after Rosario's niece showed them the route they took. Police also found Rosario's discarded car keys and his hat.

Nearly 30 witnesses testified during the arduous trial earlier this year. In a split verdict, the DuPage County jury acquitted Rosario late Jan. 23 of attempted murder and half of the serious weapon charges he had faced. Members found him guilty of the other gun charges.

Rosario did not take the witness stand.

His defense team, Jacqueline Lacy and George Ford, argued police arrested the wrong man. They said one of three shooting victims, Tommie Ward, was the one with the gun and that he accidentally shot himself in the foot when opening fire on Rosario. The other partygoers covered for Ward, the defense said, because they were his friends. Rosario did not know the other partygoers, except for his sister and niece.

There was no physical evidence, such as fingerprints or powder residue, tying Rosario to the gun. Ward identified Rosario as the shooter. The defendant's sister testified she did not see the shooter. The third victim, Derrick Barber, as well as other partygoers, identified the shooter only as the lone Hispanic man at the party.

The prosecution team, Steven Knight, Brian Perkins and Anne Therieau, argued it could only be Rosario. They said an armed Rosario came to the party looking for a fight and became enraged when Barber spilled his drink on the defendant's white Bulls jersey.

If Rosario were innocent, the prosecution asked jurors, why did he ditch his keys, hat and put on his niece's dark sweatshirt after fleeing? He told police when arrested that he was "defending my family." An officer testified that he overheard Rosario later tell his niece not to say anything when the two were at the police station.

Prosecutors also argued Ward didn't have enough time before police arrived to wipe the gun clean and ditch it in nearby bushes.

DuPage Circuit Judge Blanche Hill Fawell sentenced Rosario Monday to the 18-year prison term. She found the maximum sentence he could face was up to 30 years - not 60, as the prosecution had argued. Rosario had a criminal history that included a 2004 drug possession, 2002 unlawful restraint and some misdemeanor batteries, as well.