Waukegan man denies killing girlfriend in front of her daughter
A 23-year-old Waukegan man charged in the Jan. 2 killing of his girlfriend inside a Waukegan tavern pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Roberto C. Romero, of the 400 block of South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, is facing life in prison if found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder, Lake County Judge George Bridges said in court Wednesday.
He remains held in Lake County jail on $3 million bail.
Surveillance video and pictures of the shooting were turned over by prosecutors to defense attorney LaTonya Burton prior to court Wednesday morning.
Romero is accused of gunning down his live-in girlfriend, Elpidia Munoz-Garcia, 33, at the Taco Bueno Bar, 438 Franklin St. in Waukegan.
Authorities said Romero shot Munoz-Garcia at about 1:10 a.m. Jan. 2 in front of the woman's 9-year-old daughter.
Authorities said Munoz-Garcia asked her boyfriend's parents to meet her at the tavern to pick up a gun Romero purportedly possessed.
In the midst of the exchange, authorities said, Romero seized the weapon and shot Munoz multiple times in the face. She later was pronounced dead at a Waukegan hospital.
Romero ran from the scene, but was chased by police back to the bar where he was taken into custody. according to authorities. Police said Romero admitted to the fatal shooting.
He is due back in court March 17. His trial has been tentatively scheduled to begin May 4.