One of two masked gunmen who entered an Ingleside home on February 9, demanding money before shooting two people inside, has been charged, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.
Jerome D. Freeman, 28, of the 36600 block of North Fairfield Road in unincorporated Lake Villa, has been charged with home invasion, aggravated battery with a firearm, armed robbery and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call around 5:45 a.m. February 9 for a report of shots fired with a person shot at a home in the 34600 block of North Gerberding Avenue in Ingleside.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene and learned that two people, a 27-year-old man and a 25-year-old man, had been shot inside the home. They had both already left the residence and were driven to the hospital, according to Lake County Sheriff Sgt. Christopher Covelli.
Covelli said that two masked men armed with guns entered the residence and demanded money. At least one of the two men shot the two victims and then both of the suspects fled the area.
The two victims were guests and did not live at the home, Covelli added. They were both treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
On February 28, an arrest warrant carrying a $1 million bond was issued for Freeman. He was already being held in the Cook County Jail on unrelated charges and is expected to be transferred to the Lake County Jail following the conclusion of his Cook County cases.
Covelli said that the shooting was not random. Detectives are still working on identifying the second suspect. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office at 847-377-4424 or Lake County CrimeStoppers at 847-662-2222.
The shooting remains under investigation by Lake County Sheriff’s detectives and the Lake County Sheriff Gang Task Force.