Charges have been filed against a gunman, who was on pre-trial release in connection with a murder, after he allegedly shot a woman at an apartment building in Waukegan.
Amil Little, 25, of Beach Park, was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated domestic battery, possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number and two counts of felon in possession of a weapon.
The Waukegan Police Department responded around 1:19 a.m. Wednesday to the 2725 West Glen Flora Avenue for a report of shots fired.
911 callers reported hearing shots fired on the sixth floor of Cinnamon Lake Towers.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Emily Shanley-Roberts said an additional 911 call was received from a woman reporting she had been shot.
Shanley-Roberts said that officers heard gunshots actively being fired when they were approaching the scene.
Officers observed bullet holes in the door of an apartment. The female victim exited and approached officers.
She dropped to the ground after reporting she had been shot and the shooter was still inside the apartment.
The Waukegan Fire Department responded and transported the victim to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, according to Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Scott Chastain.
Chastain said the woman underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.
The woman, who was in and out of consciousness on the way to the hospital, identified Little as the gunman and reported that the two of them were the only occupants in the apartment, Shanley-Roberts said.
Officers stood by outside the apartment before Little exited and approached officers with his hands up.
He was taken into custody and a search of the apartment resulted in a rifle, which had a defaced serial number, and a handgun being recovered.
They also found 18 spent bullet casings that were fired from more than one gun.
Investigators later interviewed Little and the victim who reported they were in a relationship and Little had been staying with the woman at her apartment.
Little told investigators he smoked marijuana right before the incident and that he blacked out after, Shanley-Roberts said.
He also admitted to possessing guns and said that he drives around with the weapons, Shanley-Roberts said. Little said he knew the rifle had a defaced serial number.
The victim told investigators the two were watching television and smoking marijuana when Little became paranoid and thought someone was at the door.
The woman tried to reassure Little that no one was outside but he continued to act paranoid, Shanley-Roberts said.
The two were in a bedroom and the victim was standing in the doorway when Little allegedly began shooting at her.
The victim told Little she was shot and the man told her, “No you’re not” and “No, no I didn’t do that,” according to Shanley-Roberts.
Little was on pre-trial release in Lake County at the time of the shooting after being charged in connection with the murder of a man in Beach Park.
Tavontee Fox, 24, of Waukegan, arranged to meet up with Little and Cyncere L. Tillman, 24, of Waukegan, to purchase a .38 revolver, according to prosecutors.
The group met up on February 9 in the 39300 block of Melbourne Court in Beach Park and Tillman produced a firearm, firing multiple rounds at Fox and the driver of the car, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the shooting occurred after one of the two suspects asked Fox to see the money that he brought for the transaction.
The driver of the car who was with Fox told investigators that neither he nor Fox were armed and they did not return fire at the shooter.
A witness saw Little and Tillman fleeing the scene on foot to a home on Wakefield Drive where they opened the garage enough for them to crawl through and shut it, prosecutors said.
Tillman was charged with first-degree murder and Little was charged with felon in possession of a weapon or ammunition, a Class 3 felony.
Prosecutors said that investigators found live 9mm rounds under the mattress in Little’s bedroom during a search warrant. He is a convicted felon.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed petitions to detain Tillman and Little pending trial.
Lake County Judge James Simonian granted the petition to detain Tillman, while Lake County Judge Paul Novak denied the petition to detain Little and allowed him to be released from custody following a detention hearing in late March.
The state’s attorney’s office filed a petition to detain in Little’s new case and a petition to revoke his pre-trial release in the prior case.
Both petitions were granted by Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim following a detention hearing on Friday afternoon.
Little remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on July 9 for a preliminary hearing.