A U.S. Army soldier charged with reckless discharge of a firearm after accidentally shooting his sister in the leg in Mundelein on Thursday was ordered released from custody by a Lake County Judge, attorneys said.
Daniel Marquez, 24, a soldier serving in Fort Hamblin, Kentucky, was on vacation and visiting family in Mundelein when he accidentally shot his sister while “dry-firing” a weapon, attorneys said in court Friday.
Reckless discharge of a firearm is a Class 4 felony and punishable by up to three years in jail. The charge is also probationable.
A prosecutor from the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said in court Friday morning that police officers from Mundelein received a call from Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville to report a gunshot wound.
The victim told police she returned home from work and went to her bedroom when Marquez walked in holding a weapon, prosecutors said.
She thought the magazine was out of the gun when Marquez entered the room, prosecutors said.
The next thing she realized she had been shot in the leg, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the defendant told police he had the firearm in his hand when he walked into his sister’s room, and the gun just went off.
He said he was “dry-firing” the weapon and didn’t realize there was a round in the chamber.
Dry firing a weapon means to practice firearm handling without live ammunition in the weapon.
Prosecutors said Marquez provided a breath sample about three hours after the shooting and blew a BAC of 0.043.
The gun and the spent round of ammunition were recovered by police, authorities said.
Lake County prosecutors filed a motion to detain the soldier in jail until trial. That detention hearing took place Friday afternoon.
In the afternoon hearing, Assistant Lake County State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said prosecutors were concerned because Marquez attempted to cover up the situation during multiple interviews with police.
McConnell said the victim told police she shot herself, then the two said the gun went off accidentally, before finally telling police Marquez said he was dry-firing the weapon in the home.
McConnell also said police were initially told Marquez had not been drinking, but the police found open beer cans in the home when the case was investigated.
McConnell added that Marquez told police he liked to walk around the home with a gun, but the carelessness of the incident shows he was being irresponsible with the firearm.
But the victim testified via Zoom into the courtroom and said the shooting was “100 percent an accident” and that she possesses a close relationship with her brother.
“I shouldn’t have lied, but I knew this was an accident and it could seriously affect him,” she said.
Lake County Judge James Simonian ordered Marquez released from jail while awaiting trial. However, Simonian set pre-trial conditions that he not drink, smoke cannabis, or consume illegal drugs, and is not allowed to possess any weapons in his home unless ordered to do so by the United States military.
Marquez is due back in court on Sept. 10.