A convicted felon has been arrested after prosecutors say he opened fire on a group of women standing near a car outside of an apartment building in Waukegan.
Travis K. Cherry, 31, of Waukegan, was charged with four counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and one count of felon in possession of a weapon.
The Waukegan Police Department responded around 8:47 a.m. on October 26 to the 700 block of Walnut Street in Waukegan for a report of shots fired.
Numerous officers arrived, contained the scene and located the victims involved, according to a police report.
At least five shell casings were recovered below a window of an apartment building where the gunman fired from.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Dino Katris said one of the intended targets told officers the gunman was Cherry, who is her ex-boyfriend.
The woman reported Cherry had shot at her and her friends, who were by a car, while he was inside his apartment.
No injuries were reported but their vehicle had been struck by gunfire.
Prior to the shooting, the woman believed Cherry had damaged her car and took her vehicle’s battery.
She and her friends went to Cherry’s apartment to get the battery back, Katris said.
The group asked for the battery back and Cherry said he was not going to give it back and was going to shoot them, Katris said.
Katris said Cherry went inside and saw the group run back to the car in the parking lot.
Cherry was witnessed holding two guns out the window before he opened fire on the women, Katris said.
Officers arrested Cherry and searched the apartment. Two firearms were recovered in the basement common area.
Cherry claimed he did not shoot at his ex-girlfriend and her friends but heard the shots, Katris said.
Cherry is a convicted felon with prior convictions for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak granted prosecutors’ petition to hold Cherry in the Lake County Jail pending trial.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 28.