Prosecutors say a convicted felon admitted to shooting into an occupied vehicle in Waukegan because he thought he was being set up by his girlfriend to be robbed.
Debreil Phelps, 31, of Waukegan, was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful use of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, fleeing or attempt to elude an officer, unlawful possession of cannabis by a driver, driving without a license and violation of display of registration.
The Waukegan Police Department responded around 4:15 p.m. on July 20 to a report of shots fired near Grand Avenue and Indiana Street.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd said the female victim fled the scene and went to the AutoZone off of Lewis Avenue and Williamsburg Drive.
The woman told officers she was going to see a friend in the 900 block of North Lewis Avenue.
She parked on a side street near the home and texted her friend that she had arrived.
The friend reported that her boyfriend, identified as Phelps, was at the home, Shepherd said.
The victim told her friend she would leave so Phelps and the other woman could spend time together.
The victim began driving away when she noticed Phelps’ vehicle following her, Shepherd said.
Phelps’ vehicle pulled up next to the victim at the intersection of Grand Avenue and New York Street and he opened fire on her car, Shepherd said.
The woman was uninjured but her car was struck by gunfire.
Officers using the Flock Safety camera system on August 1 were searching for the wanted suspect vehicle, a silver Ford van.
Shepherd said the van was spotted at Washington Street and Lewis Avenue and officers conducted a traffic stop on the Ford.
The Ford fled from the stop but was stopped again a short time later by other officers.
A search of the car resulted in a 9mm handgun, which was fully loaded, in the center console, Shepherd said.
Phelps was arrested and spoke to officers about the shooting on July 20.
He said he had just got back into town with a “bunch of weed” in his car when he saw the female victim’s car pull up and park near his girlfriend’s home, Shepherd said.
Phelps thought his girlfriend was setting him up to get robbed because the car pulled up and no one got out before it then pulled away, Shepherd said.
He admitted he followed the car and fired a gun at the car before fleeing the scene, Shepherd said. Phelps, a convicted felon, reported the gun used in the incident was his girlfriend’s gun.
“This defendant fired a firearm at a car he knew to be occupied… He clearly has no concern for the lives of others,” Shepherd said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Phelps pending trial.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak granted the petition and ordered Phelps held in the Lake County Jail pending trial.
The judge also questioned why Phelps was not charged by the state’s attorney’s office with attempted murder based on the circumstances of the offenses.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 4.