Oak Park man pleads not guilty to fatal shooting near Roselle
An Oak Park man indicted on five counts of first-degree murder in a June 3 shooting near Roselle pleaded not guilty Monday as DuPage County prosecutors seek increased penalties.
Owen Reneau, 30, of the 300 block of Maple Avenue, is charged in the shooting death of Sanchez Townes-Elliot in a basement music recording studio at 24W713 Lake St. He is being held on $5 million bail after he was arrested last month in Baltimore and extradited to DuPage.
Reneau faces between 25 years and natural life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors said Monday they intend to prove that Reneau fired the gun that killed Townes-Elliot, which would add 20 years to the minimum and increase the range to 45 years to life.
Prosecutors said Reneau and Townes-Elliot got into an argument around 2:30 a.m. in the music studio because Townes-Elliot was holding a gun that was making Reneau's girlfriend uncomfortable.
When Townes-Elliot put the weapon down, prosecutors said witnesses told police Reneau said, "This gun is took. This gun is mine now."
Townes-Elliot responded by saying, "I don't need no gun to fight you," at which point Reneau shot him four times, authorities said.
Prosecutors said Reneau then fled in a vehicle with two other people, the gun still in his pocket.
On June 8, DuPage authorities issued a $2 million arrest warrant for Reneau and he was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.
Sometime later, law enforcement agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Baltimore County sheriff's office found Reneau hiding at his brother's home in Baltimore.
Reneau's next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 24.