Teen admits to stealing in Elgin man’s manslaughter trial

Guillermo Pineda was the kind of son who asked permission before he left the house to see his friends, his mother told a Cook County courtroom. He did so the evening of July 4, 2011, when he left his Elgin home and never returned.

Isabel Pineda recalled the last moments she spent with her son Tuesday as testimony began in the trial of Donald Rattanavong, charged with shooting the 18-year-old because he believed the teenager and three of his friends were breaking into Rattanavong’s car parked on the street on the 800 block of Arthur Drive.

Authorities say Rattanavong, 58, left his house, yelled at the teens and fired a small caliber handgun several times. One of the bullets struck Pineda in the left temple, killing him. His body was found in the street next to his bike and near a black Toyota Camry.

Rattanavong, who did not have a valid firearm owner’s identification card, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm. Rattanavong’s attorney, Lewis Gainor, insists that his client was defending himself and his family from four teens engaged in what Gainor described as a “crime spree.”

Prosecution witness Alex Ervin admitted as much Tuesday.

The Elgin High School senior testified that he, Pineda and two other classmates rode bikes to a convenience store about 9 p.m. that night. On the way back to Pineda’s apartment, Ervin and Pineda took items from four or five cars, Ervin said.

The other teens did not participate, he said.

“We walked by cars, and if the car was unlocked we went in,” said Ervin, 17, who admitted taking cigarettes and sunglasses.

Pineda removed a CD changer, DVDs and a cellphone, Ervin said, adding that they did not enter locked cars nor did they damage any vehicles. He further testified that he and Pineda had stopped checking car doors by the time they reached Rattanavong’s house. Ervin said neither he nor Pineda attempted to open or remove anything from the four cars — including two BMWs and a Volvo — in Rattanavong’s driveway or the Camry parked in the street. Elgin police officers testified that none of those cars showed any damage and no property was missing.

As the quartet walked and rode past Rattanavong’s house, Ervin said he noticed someone standing in the garage as the door closed. Within moments, the man exited the front door yelling “what are you doing?” and started shooting, Ervin said. He testified that he ran away after hearing three gunshots.

“It was yours and Guillermo’s decision to rob cars?” asked Gainor on cross examination. “You were in it together?”

“Yes,” Ervin said.

“But you didn’t get charged with anything,” asked Gainor a few moments later.

“No,” Ervin responded.

At the scene, Rattanavong told police officer Scott Holmes that one of the boys was on the driveway and another was on the sidewalk.

“He stated he yelled at them. He wanted them off his property,” said Holmes, who demonstrated for jurors how Rattanavong extended his left arm parallel to the ground and fired the gun, which Holmes recovered from the house. Earlier published reports indicate Rattanavong told police he fired into the air.

Testimony continues today.