Police: South Elgin man shot by own gun during home invasion

A South Elgin man faces multiple felony charges alleging he pulled a gun earlier this month on an Elgin man who'd caught him trying to break into his car.

Lewis C. McCracken, 20, of the 100 block of Josephine Drive, is charged with home invasion and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon stemming from the April 2 confrontation during which he was shot in a struggle over the weapon, police said Sunday.

According to police, officers responding at 2:20 a.m. April 2 to a report of shots fired in the 500 block of Sunset Drive met with residents who said they heard a car alarm and then saw two men breaking into their vehicle.

The vehicle's owner told officers he confronted the suspects, at which point a man he identified as McCracken pulled out a gun and entered the residence. The man and McCracken then struggled over the weapon, police said, at which the gun went off and McCracken was hit.

McCracken suffered a nonlife-threatening injury and fled the scene, police said. The vehicle's owner and other occupants of the residence were not harmed.

McCracken appeared in court Sunday, when a judge set his bail at $500,000. The South Elgin man, who faces a maximum six to 30 years in prison if found guilty of home invasion. is scheduled to return to court Wednesday.