A judge sentenced a Waukegan man to 44 years in prison after he was convicted of opening fire on a victim, nearly shooting him in the head, during a road rage incident in broad daylight near McHenry.
Juan A. Colon, 29, of Waukegan, was charged in April 2022 with attempted first-degree murder, armed habitual criminal, three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm.
McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Maria Marek said that Colon was in the passenger seat of a black Lincoln SUV on April 24, 2022.
The Lincoln was being driven by Joseph W. Crisara III, 37, of Island Lake, in the area of River Road near Elmkirk Road in unincorporated McHenry.
The Lincoln began to pass another vehicle and Colon threw a Pellegrino water bottle at the other car, prosecutors said.
The bottle struck a victim’s vehicle and the victim began traveling behind the Lincoln onto Black Patridge Road from River Road.
The Lincoln stopped in the roadway, forcing the victim’s vehicle to stop, and Colon was captured on the victim’s dashcam exiting the Lincoln, Marek said.
Prosecutors said Colon exited and approached the victim’s driver-side window with a loaded .25 caliber semi-automatic firearm while the victim was seated in the driver’s seat.
The victim deployed pepper spray toward Colon and Colon fired the gun, striking the edge of the B-pillar of the driver’s side doorframe.
Prosecutors said the bullet was “incredibly close” to striking the victim directly in the head. Colon fired two more shots at the victim before running back to the Lincoln and fleeing the scene.
The shooting occurred as a family was loading a U-Haul truck in close proximity to the incident.
Marek said that the dashcam video “clearly” depicted Colon’s face and the image was compared to Secretary of State records.
Colon is also known to the Waukegan Police Department. A sergeant with the department positively identified Colon as the suspect in the video.
The victim remained at the scene to meet with deputies from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and provide them with his dashcam video.
“The defendant’s actions demonstrate a complete disregard for the physical safety of the public and wanton callousness towards the value of human life,” Marek said at the time of Colon’s arrest.
Colon is a convicted felon after previously being convicted of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in a 2013 Lake County case and aggravated battery in a public place in a 2015 Lake County case. He also has numerous misdemeanor convictions.
Colon was ordered held in the McHenry County Jail without bond.
Crisara, the getaway driver, was charged with obstructing justice, possession of psilocybin with intent to deliver, unlawful possession of psilocybin, possession of more than 2,000 grams of cannabis and possession of more than 2,000 grams of cannabis with intent to deliver.
A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court said Crisara obstructed justice when he concealed physical evidence after the shooting.
He was accused of removing DNA material from the scene and assisting in removing the gun used and the suspect involved, the complaint said.
The gun was recovered buried behind a residence in Island Lake, prosecutors said.
Crisara was arrested on April 27, 2022, records show. Police found him in possession of 2,000-5,000 grams of cannabis and more than 200 grams of a substance containing psilocybin, a complaint said.
Crisara was on parole after being released from the Illinois Department of Corrections in July 2021 after serving a sentence for drug-induced homicide in Lake County.
Crisara pleaded guilty in May 2024 to the charge of manufacturing or delivering cannabis over 2,000 grams, a Class 2 felony, and was sentenced to 39 months in prison.
A bench trial held in front of McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt concluded in May with the judge finding Colon guilty of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.
The judge sentenced Colon on Wednesday to 44 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He will be required to serve 85% of the sentence in accordance with truth-in-sentencing guidelines.
“Colon has been a criminal menace to the citizens of Lake County for over ten years before coming to McHenry County to reside and work with a local drug dealer,” the state’s attorney’s office said in a statement after sentencing.