Prosecutor: Traffic dispute that led to murder charge started as victim backed into his driveway
A confrontation Sunday that left one Streamwood man dead and another jailed on a charge of first-degree murder began with a minor traffic dispute over a perceived rude act, according to a narrative laid out Wednesday in a Cook County courtroom.
Jonathan Mejia, 18, of the 300 block of Cedar Circle Court, appeared in court for the first time Wednesday since his arrest on murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon charges stemming from the fatal shooting of Scott Mattison.
A prosecutor said the traffic dispute occurred as Mattison, 46, was trying to back a pickup truck into his driveway late Sunday afternoon.
Mejia pulled up in a sedan and, rather than wait for Mattison to finish pulling in, maneuvered around the pickup, the prosecutor said. Mattison then drove after Mejia, overtook his car and pulled in front of him, causing Mejia to stop on Bartlett Road near Oltendorf Road, authorities say.
Mattison got out of his truck and walked back to Mejia's sedan, where a brief argument occurred, according to the prosecutor. Mattison then reached inside the vehicle and struck Mejia in the face, the prosecutor said.
Authorities say Mattison then was shot multiple times by a 9 mm handgun, suffering gunshot wounds near his liver and his spleen and in the chest.
Witnesses, including a person who video-recorded the confrontation from behind Mejia's vehicle and posted it on the social media site Snapchat, told authorities Mattison had nothing in his hands when he was shot, prosecutors say.
After the shooting, Mejia drove to the Streamwood Police Department to give his account of what had happened, according to the prosecutor.
Streamwood police officers called to the scene at about 5:20 p.m. Sunday arrived to find Mattison lying injured in the road. He died from his injuries about an hour later at Amita St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates.
The Cook County medical examiner's office determined the cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds.
Mejia's attorney, Al Kola, requested a "reasonable" bond in court Wednesday, describing his client as someone who lived with his family, attended school online and had voluntarily gone to the police station afterward.
But prosecutors say Mejia previously has been found delinquent as a juvenile for a prior offense of discharging a firearm.
A judge ordered Mejia held without bail and scheduled his next court appearance for March 25.
Prosecutors said he faces 45 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.