A Lake County Judge denied pretrial release for a gunman who opened fire and shot a man in the chest during an argument at a Lake Forest dog park Sunday.
However, a video entered into evidence during the detention hearing for Matthew D. Moy, 35, of Niles, shows the victim in the shooting repeatedly slapped and pushed Moy before the accused gunman pulled out a firearm and shot the victim in the chest.
The Lake Forest Police Department said they responded to the Prairie Wolf Forest Preserve Dog Park at 1917 South Waukegan Road in Lake Forest for a report of a shooting at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Responding officers were able to take Moy into custody without incident, police officials said.
The victim was transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment by the Lake Forest Fire Department.
Emergency radio traffic indicated the victim was a male in his early 20s. He has not been named and his condition has not been released.
The weapon believed to have been used in this incident was recovered, officials said.
Court records show Moy was charged with one count of aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, a Class X felony.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffery Facklam said during a First Appearance court hearing Tuesday that Moy and the victim got into an argument, apparently over a dog.
The argument began inside the dog park and was captured on cell phone video. The victim was seen pushing Moy inside the dog park.
Moy exited the park and went into the parking lot without his dog, Facklam said. The victim also went into the parking lot.
The two continued to argue and were pushing each other, Facklam said. Moy went to his truck and then came back into the parking lot where he and the victim continued to argue.
Facklam said the victim took a couple of steps toward Moy following several minutes of arguing, at which time Moy pulled the gun out from his pocket and shot the victim in the chest.
Moy called 911 and remained at the scene.
Facklam said it appeared Moy retrieved the gun from the center console of his truck when he went to his vehicle in the middle of the argument.
Police did not locate any weapons on the victim and evidence shows he was unarmed, Facklam said.
Moy does not have a criminal history and at the time possessed a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card and concealed carry license.
Facklam argued that Moy posed a threat to the community due to his willingness to resort to the use of a firearm to settle a relatively minor argument.
“The defendant escalated a verbal argument and minor physical altercation into shooting an unarmed victim,” the prosecutor said.
“This all happened in a public setting with numerous other bystanders around. Rather than attempting to leave, the defendant went to his car to get his firearm to escalate the argument further,” Facklam said.
A four-minute cell phone video taken of the incident was played for Lake County Circuit Court Judge Michael Nerheim before arguments began in the gunman’s detention court hearing Wednesday afternoon.
As part of a record of the event, Nerheim said the video shows the victim became animated and upset as he approached the Moy, who was sitting on a bench in the dog park.
Moy eventually stood up and the two were face-to-face in a clear confrontation, Nerheim said. Nerheim said the victim then started the physical confrontation by pushing Moy for a bit before the gunman left to get something out of his car.
The victim pursued Moy and stated on the video, “What are you going to do about it,” Nerheim said.
Facklam argued that the object Moy retrieved was the gun he used to shoot the victim with.
Defense attorney Vanessa Sheehan argued Moy pulled a cell phone out of his vehicle to take a picture of the victim’s license plate to turn over to police.
In addition, she said the victim committed assault by repeatedly slapping and pushing Moy.
Nerheim said he was unsure of the object that was retrieved from the vehicle, but said following more arguing and what the judge called a “slap fight,” it was clear Moy drew the firearm and shot the victim.
Nerheim said even though the victim didn’t walk away and continued to pursue Moy, Moy still used the firearm to shoot an unarmed person.
Sheehan immediately waived preliminary hearing and invoked the Speedy Trial Act, prompting Nerheim to set Moy’s next court date for Friday.
Under the Illinois Safe-T Act, individuals in custody must be tried within 120 days of the date of custody, with some exceptions.
“Our thoughts are with the victim and his family. We are satisfied that this offender has been detained without the ability to use cash,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said. “This case shows that even minor arguments can turn potentially lethal when firearms are easily accessible.”