Trial begins in fatal shooting at Wheaton-area bar

A DuPage County jury is being asked to decide whether an Aurora man murdered someone over a pizza or whether he acted in self-defense.

Michael J. Freund, 51, went on trial Wednesday on a first-degree murder charge he shot a man nine times in December 2023 outside a bar near Wheaton

“His (Freund’s) decisions and his conduct were outrageous,” DuPage County Assistant State’s Attorney Lee Roupas told jurors during opening arguments. “They were disgusting, and they were without any legal justification under the law.”

The shooting occurred at about 8:40 a.m. Dec. 22, 2023, at Rosie O’Reilly's, 0N131 Gary Ave.

Authorities said Dexter Perkins, 37, was seated at the bar around 7:20 a.m. when Freund and two co-workers arrived after work. According to Roupas, the four men started talking and shared a pizza.

Roupas, who acknowledged that Perkins was intoxicated, said Freund eventually seemed to become annoyed by Perkins. When Freund ordered a second pizza, Roupas said, he took the pizza, gave slices to Freund and one of the other men, then kept the pizza and started eating a slice.

“That was Dexter’s big crime. He took the pizza and started eating it,” said Roupas, adding that the bartender offered to take the pizza off Freund’s bill.

According to prosecutors, Freund went outside to his pickup truck, took a handgun from the driver’s side, and offered another handgun to one of his co-workers, who refused it.

The men went back into the bar, then moved outside to a deck. Perkins then shook hands with one of the men and started to dance with him, Roupas said.

While they danced, Perkins pushed himself off a wall, and Freund fired two shots into the air, prosecutors said.

The man dancing with Perkins then pushed him, and Perkins fell to the ground, prosecutors said. When Perkins got up and took two steps forward, Freund shot him nine times, Roupas said.

Freund’s attorney, Dave Carlson, said the shooting was “a tragedy of biblical proportions,” but not first-degree murder because Freund had no intent to kill Perkins.

He also disputed Roupas’ characterization of what happened on the deck outside the bar before the shots were fired.

“This wasn’t so light-hearted,” Carlson said.

Freund is arguing he acted in self-defense.

During a court hearing for Freund in 2023, prosecutors said Perkins started acting aggressively toward the men, bought them drinks, and had a “scuffle” outside on the deck that included dancing.

A bartender testified that the mood in the bar before Freund and his co-workers arrived was “jovial.” A security video shows Perkins and another man talking while seated at the bar. The video also showed Perkins buying a round of shots for Freund and his co-workers.

ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com