A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for committing a shooting in Harvard and then stabbing a fellow inmate while being held in the McHenry County Jail.
Juan C. Popoca, 20, of Harvard, was charged in December 2021 with aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony.
The Harvard Police Department responded around 6:30 p.m. on November 29, 2021, to the 700 block of West Metzen Street in Harvard for a report of a shooting.
Police officials said at the time that officers received numerous calls for multiple shots fired in the area.
Police officers arrived and discovered a residence in the 700 block of West Metzen Street that had been struck several times with an unknown type caliber weapon.
It was determined no occupants inside the residence had been injured during the incident, police officials said.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court said that Popoca and a second suspect shot at the home while knowing it was occupied.
Officers arrested Popoca in connection with the incident around 1:30 p.m. on November 30, 2021.
He was transported to the McHenry County Jail where a judge ordered him held on a $75,000 bond.
Popoca was later charged last May with aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony, and mob action, a Class 4 felony.
A criminal complaint said Popoca stabbed an inmate on May 15 while being held in the McHenry County Jail in Woodstock.
Popoca stabbed the victim with a pencil and also struck him several times with his fists, the complaint said.
A second suspect also assisted Popoca in the attack by punching the victim and kneeing him, a separate complaint said.
The victim’s injuries were not believed to be serious.
Court records show Popoca earlier this month entered into a negotiated plea deal with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.
He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony, and one count of aggravated battery, a Class 3 felony.
Prosecutors dismissed Popoca’s mob action charge as part of the plea.
McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis approved the plea deal and sentenced Popoca to two years in prison for the aggravated battery charge and 10 years in prison for the aggravated discharge of a firearm charge.
Popoca will receive credit for 492 days of time served in jail awaiting his cases.