Split verdict in party shooting
A man was convicted Friday of opening fire during a Warrenville party where three people were wounded after a dispute over a spilled drink turned violent.
But a DuPage County jury acquitted Ignacio C. Rosario of attempted murder and about half of the serious weapon charges he faced in the hard-fought trial.
Despite the split verdict, the 32-year-old former Aurora man could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for the other weapons convictions because of his criminal history.
Rosario wept as a court clerk read the verdicts about 9 p.m. Friday, less than four hours after jury deliberations began.
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 semi-automatic 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 trial. Rosario did not take the witness stand.
His defense team, Jacqueline Lacy and George Ford, argued police arrested an innocent man. They said one of the 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.
"Ignacio did not know anyone at the party," said Lacy, a senior assistant DuPage County public defender. "He was only there because his sister was there. None of those people that night were going to rat out their friend."
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 alleged 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 was 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.
"It makes no sense," Knight said. "Don't you think he'd tell them, 'You got the wrong guy. Help me! Protect me!' He doesn't say that because he is the shooter."
Knight 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, who presided over the trial, will sentence Rosario later this year. Rosario faces an extended prison term because of a 2004 drug possession conviction. He has been held in the DuPage County jail since Oct. 6, 2007, on a $2 million bond.