Judge sets $500K bond for man charged in McHenry intersection shooting investigation

A McHenry County judge on Tuesday set bond at $500,000 for a Zion man charged with attempted murder in connection with an exchange of gunfire Sunday at a McHenry intersection that remains under investigation.

Dante L. Terrell Jr., 29, of the 2300 block of Joppa Avenue, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

If convicted of the most serious charge, attempted murder, Terrell would not be eligible for probation and would need to serve at least 85% of his prison sentence, in accordance with Illinois truth-in-sentencing rules.

McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis appointed an attorney from the McHenry County public defender's office to represent Terrell on bond matters.

Prosecutors in court Tuesday said Terrell was in the area of Route 31 and Bull Valley Road in McHenry on his way to a football game when another vehicle approached the intersection. Terrell and people in the other vehicle "began shooting at each other," but no one was injured, an attorney from the McHenry County state's attorney's office said in court.

The occupants of the other vehicle had interacted with Terrell earlier at a gas station, prosecutors said. The details of that exchange, however, were not immediately clear.

A preliminary investigation determined two vehicles - a red Jeep Compass and a silver Nissan Maxima - were involved in the shooting, which was reported about 1:25 p.m. Sunday.

Gunfire struck a third vehicle that was stopped at the intersection but wasn't involved in the shooting. That vehicle's occupant was not injured, McHenry police spokesman Officer Michael Spohn said. A bullet was found on the seat of the uninvolved vehicle, prosecutors said.

It was unclear Tuesday morning how many people might have been involved in the shooting or whether additional arrests are expected in the near future.

McHenry police are "aggressively pursuing" other people who they think were also involved in the shooting, which left more than 50 shell casings at the scene, according to the McHenry Police Department release.

At the time of his arrest, Terrell was wanted on a separate arrest warrant from an aggravated unlawful use of a weapon charge out of Lake County, according to the release.

Terrell remained at the McHenry County Jail Tuesday. He would need to post $500,000 bail to secure his release.