Gang member held in Round Lake Park shooting

An investigation that spanned three days led Round Lake Park police to a teenager who they say shot two girls on Sunday night.

Kevin K. Braun, 17, of 805 Park Road, Round Lake, was charged with four counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko said Thursday.

Braun, also known by the street name "Marshmallow," was seized by investigators without incident at his home Wednesday and remains held in lieu of $100,000 bond at the Lake County jail, police said. The victims identified him in a photo lineup.

"He's definitely a confirmed gang member," Filenko said. "There is no doubt there."

Filenko said a 15-year-old girl from San Diego and a 16-year-old girl from Round Lake Park suffered superficial graze wounds and did not seek medical treatment after they were hit by at least two of the six the bullets Braun fired about 10:15 p.m. Sunday.

"They were extremely lucky," Filenko said. "Extremely lucky."

Filenko said the investigation showed Braun and other known gang members had a dispute with some rivals in the 300 block of Pineview Drive in Hainesville on Sunday night.

He said the wounded girls and two other teenagers, who are not in gangs, were friends with Braun's rivals. When the group left the area, Braun and his crew followed on foot from Hainesville to Locust and Fairlawn drives in Round Lake Park, where the shooting took place.

Filenko said 911 calls about shots fired around Locust and Fairview were received at 10:17 p.m. Sunday. However, he said, responding officers did not find anyone and shell casings proved to be difficult to find in the dark.

Police who searched the area Monday morning used a metal detector and found six shell casings. Filenko said two bullets lodged inside an unoccupied home and another nicked a tree.

Working with a confidential informant on Tuesday, said Filenko, investigators found the two girls who were grazed by the bullets. The interviews with the girls produced information leading police to the 300 block of Pineview in Hainesville, where Filenko said officers took pictures of known gang members, including Braun, who were outside.

Filenko said Braun was brought into Round Lake Park police headquarters, where the girls identified him in a photo lineup.