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Zion man sentenced to 40 years in prison for Gurnee standoff

A victim of a 2012 home invasion testified Monday she flung open the bathroom door and confronted her sister's gun-wielding ex-boyfriend to stop him from shooting her daughter.

"I opened the door so I could reveal my face," a crying Jeanese Foster of Gurnee said during the sentencing hearing for Kendrick Augillard. "I was hoping it would distract whoever it was and stop them from (attacking) my daughter, even if he killed me instead."

Augillard, 36, of the 4200 block of Barberry Lane in Zion, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after an emotional hearing in front of Lake County Judge Mark Levitt. He will be eligible for parole after serving 20 of those years.

Augillard pleaded guilty in January to single counts of home invasion and aggravated cruelty to an animal.

Foster testified she and her son awoke Oct. 19 when someone knocked on her door of her home on the 4400 block of Raven Court in Gurnee. The knocking stopped for a second, Foster said, but continued more violently.

When they heard a large "explosion" near the family's glass rear door, she grabbed her son and cellphone and ran up the stairs, Foster testified. They barricaded themselves in a bathroom and dialed 9-1-1.

She said she heard the shooter reload his weapon, then fire gun shots into the bathroom door. Prosecutors said four bullets or bullet holes were found in the bathroom after the shooting, but no one was injured.

Foster testified she heard her 7-year-old daughter on the other side of the door at 6:50 a.m. She testified she went out to confront the shooter and found "Kendrick was on the other side of the door."

Her sister, Nadia Foster, testified she ended her relationship with Augillard in August 2012. Nadia Foster lived in the home but had not yet returned from work when Augillard entered.

After the breakup, she testified, they had been texting cordially. When the conversation turned nasty, she ended the relationship and obtained an order of protection against him.

Jeanese Foster testified that when she confronted Augillard, he told her he was looking for her sister. Augillard threatened suicide after learning she wasn't home, Jeanese Foster said.

"He said he wasn't here for them (the children)," she said, and he allowed her to take her daughter and return to the bathroom.

She said she asked Augillard if she could leave the home, and when she didn't hear him answer, she gathered up her children and walked out.

On her way out, she said, she saw blood on the floor and assumed the family dog was hit by a bullet. Police said the dog was shot and later required surgery.

Augillard barricaded himself inside the home for about an hour, authorities said. River Trail Elementary School and Warren Township High School's O'Plaine Campus were placed on lockdown during the standoff, which ended about 10:15 a.m.

Augillard initially pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, home invasion, discharging a firearm during a home invasion, aggravated cruelty to animals and residential burglary. The attempted murder, discharging a firearm and residential burglary charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Had he been found guilty at trial, he could have been sentenced to more than 50 years in prison.

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