A jury found a convicted felon guilty of shooting a gun in the direction of a family amusement center in Waukegan after a physical fight broke out in the establishment.
Demonshea Davidson, 32, of Beach Park, was convicted of armed habitual criminal, aggravated discharge of a firearm, felon in possession of a firearm enhanced and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon enhanced.
A Lake County jury returned the guilty verdicts on Thursday following a four-day trial.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred around 6:30 p.m. on December 30, 2022, at The People’s Choice Family Fun Center, located at 2650 Belvidere Road in Waukegan.
Witnesses at the scene reported that an argument occurred, escalating to a fight, before the shots were fired.
Fire department radio traffic indicated a female was bleeding after being “stomped” on the head.
A photo shared with Lake and McHenry County Scanner showed a small pool of blood on the ground inside the establishment.
Then-Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Brian Mullen told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that a physical fight occurred inside the business.
Prosecutors said Davidson pulled a gun in the parking lot and fired shots in the direction of the amusement center, striking a vehicle, following the fight.
No one was wounded in the shooting, Mullen said.
There were preliminary reports to dispatchers that someone was injured as a result of the fight but no one came forward to report that to officers on the scene, Mullen said.
Law enforcement officers testified at the trial to responding to a report of shots fired at the family amusement center.
They collected numerous pieces of evidence from the scene, including spent shell casings and a surveillance video that captured the entire incident.
Video surveillance captured Davidson firing the gun and the video also depicted him inside the establishment shortly before the shooting, prosecutors said.
At the time of the shooting, Davidson was out on bond for a weapons-related offense in Lake County.
Court records show he was arrested on December 9, 2019, in Waukegan and charged with armed habitual criminal, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon enhanced and felon in possession of a weapon enhanced.
That arrest occurred prior to the Illinois SAFE-T Act ending cash bail and a judge set Davidson’s bond in the case at $250,000.
Davidson posted $25,000 cash and was released from the Lake County Jail.
He was taken into custody by the Waukegan Police Department in January 2023 after being charged in the 2022 shooting.
A judge set bond at $1.5 million following his new arrest and he has remained held in custody awaiting trial.
Davidson was convicted of the charges in his first case in May 2023 following a jury trial, at which time a judge revoked his ability to post bond.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said Monday, following Davidson’s second conviction, that his office’s experienced prosecutors “continue to hold dangerous individuals accountable.”
“This defendant continued to put our community at risk, even after posting $25,000 for a separate incident in 2019. During this 2022 incident, he endangered the parents and the children who were present at the family center that day,” Rinehart said.
“Thanks to the great work of law enforcement, we were able to secure another conviction against a violent individual who now faces decades in the Illinois Department of Corrections,” he added.
Davidson is now awaiting sentencing in both cases. The most serious charges against him, armed habitual criminal, carry a six to 30-year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The sentence for the charges can be served consecutively, resulting in a total sentencing range of 12-60 years in prison.
Prosecutors said that they intend to argue that Davidson should serve his sentences consecutively and not concurrently.
He is scheduled to appear in court again on June 16 for a status hearing on post-trial motions.