Pretrial release denied for man accused in Bensenville shooting death
A DuPage County judge denied pretrial release Friday for a man accused of shooting another man to death a week ago near Bensenville.
Judge George Ford agreed with a prosecutor's contention that Kevin Krenc, 31, posed a danger to the community and witnesses to the death of Victor Garcia, 27, of Des Plaines. He said there were no conditions he could put on Krenc to mitigate the safety threat.
The shooting happened at a home in the 4N500 block of Church Road on Oct. 14. A man told police about it later that day, but it took several days for investigators to obtain a search warrant for the home. They found Garcia's body in an open crawl space in the garage, beneath some furniture and household items, according to assistant state's attorney Alyssa Rabulinski.
Garcia and Krenc were, at minimum, acquaintances, she said. Garcia was at the home, with several other people, celebrating Krenc's birthday, according to Rabulinski.
Rabulinski said Garcia had been upset over an accusation by the home's owner that he had taken the man's shoes and had suggested to another man that they rob the homeowner of his cocaine.
Krenc, who was staying temporarily at the home, also didn't like how Garcia was treating the homeowner's girlfriend at the celebration, Rabulinski said. Krenc and others ingested cocaine at the celebration, according to Rabulinski.
Krenc shot him five times in the head and upper body with a rifle, according to Rabulinski.
She also said Krenc was on pretrial release in a Rosemont case from Oct. 1, where he was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and disorderly conduct. In that case, she said, Krenc banged on the door of a hotel room, spoke of having a gun and said, "I'm high as *** let me in." Police found a 9 mm handgun in a pants pocket, according to Rabulinski.
Krenc's attorney, John Nocita, said the house was a "drug house." He said Krenc has lived in the area his whole life and is a graduate of Elmhurst University.
If convicted, Krenc faces a sentence of at least 45 years in prison - 20 for murder and a mandatory 25 extra years for use of a gun.
His next court date is Nov. 3.