Lawyer: Negotiations in Lake Villa-area shooting case not going well
The attorney for a Lake Villa-area man accused of shooting a neighbor in the ribs last September said negotiations with prosecutors on a possible plea deal have not been going well.
Defense attorney Donald Morrison said prosecutors have been unwilling to reduce charges against Frank Geu, 44, of the 36000 block of North Alice Drive, from a felony count of aggravated discharge of a firearm. Morrison told Judge Daniel Shanes in court Thursday he wants the charges reduced to a misdemeanor.
Assistant State's Attorney Scott Hoffert did not comment on the issue in court. Felony convictions usually come with higher fines and longer jail times than misdemeanor convictions.
If the two sides cannot agree to a settlement, the case will go to trial in September, Morrison said in court.
Morrison declined to comment after the hearing.
Geu faces felony counts of aggravated battery with a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm in addition to the felony count of aggravated discharge of a firearm after shooting his neighbor in the victim's garage Sept. 14 about 9:30 p.m.
Geu remains free from jail after posting 10 percent of his $25,000 bail. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Geu, who lives in unincorporated Venetian Village, about two miles south of the Lake Villa border, was drinking with the victim inside the neighbor's garage when the two began talking about guns, authorities said. Geu left the garage and went home and returned with two, fully loaded, semiautomatic handguns to show the victim, authorities said.
Geu handed the guns to the victim, who unloaded the weapons for inspection, authorities said. The victim returned the unloaded firearms to Geu, who reloaded one weapon, pointed it at the victim and pulled the trigger, authorities said.
The victim was able to retreat inside his home to call for help, authorities said. He was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for surgery.
Morrison said in court he intends to call about 15 witnesses should the case go to trial. He said the witnesses are people the victim spoke to after the shooting who could shed light on whether the victim indicated the shooting was an accident or intentional.
The two sides are due to return to court July 30.