A 39-year-old man is accused of firing a gun multiple times inside his Waukegan home after prosecutors say he believed the devil and other people were out to get him.
Jesus Hernandez-Garcia, 39, of Waukegan, was charged by a Lake County grand jury on Wednesday with reckless discharge of a firearm, a Class 4 felony.
The Waukegan Police Department responded around 8:30 a.m. on August 27 to a 911 call made by Hernandez-Garcia.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Vukovich said Hernandez-Garcia told dispatchers that he was seeing things and some sort of beings were holding someone hostage and that he was chasing people.
Hernandez-Garcia also told dispatch that he had stopped drinking days prior and was having hallucinations and seizures.
Hernandez-Garcia was outside when he made the call and provided police with his location.
Vukovich said officers located Hernandez-Garcia a few blocks from his home and went to the house to learn what was occurring.
They spoke with Hernandez-Garcia’s wife, who had also called 911 to report her husband had a gun.
The woman said she heard two gunshots around 7:50 a.m. that morning, Vukovich said. She went to the bedroom and found Hernandez-Garcia holding a gun.
Hernandez-Garcia told her that someone was in the bathroom and he tried to shoot them but they were not dead, Vukovich said. The woman saw two gunshots in the door.
Vukovich said Hernandez-Garcia began making delusional references to his wife, including that the devil was out to get him and that people were trying to take him and her away.
The wife took the gun away from Hernandez-Garcia and hid it from him. He ran out of the home and called 911.
Vukovich said Hernandez-Garcia admitted to shooting the gun in the home and said that he was trying to scare away the beings in the house.
Hernandez-Garcia was transported to the hospital and officers heard him telling hospital staff that the devil and people were out to get him, Vukovich said.
Officers recovered the firearm from the residence and seized his Firearm Owner’s Identification card.
Hernandez-Garcia’s wife has since sought and was granted an order of protection. She said she fears for her safety and that Hernandez-Garcia will hurt her.
An attorney for Hernandez-Garcia said his client does not pose a threat to the community. He argued that Hernandez-Garcia’s actions were the result of hallucinations from alcohol detox.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak granted a petition filed by prosecutors to detain Hernandez-Garcia in the Lake County Jail pending trial.
The judge said it was likely in the best interest of Hernandez-Garcia, his wife and the public that he be held in custody and transferred to a treatment facility.
Hernandez-Garcia is scheduled to appear for an arraignment hearing on Tuesday morning.