Prosecutors say a woman “carelessly and callously” fired a gun after she got irritated and wanted to “scare people” who were fighting outside an apartment in Zion.
The Zion Police Department responded around 12:44 a.m. on August 11 to the 4100 block of Barberry Lane in Zion for a report of shots fired.
A 911 caller reported that a female subject shot a gun and threatened to shoot the gun again, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon.
The caller reported the gun was a small black pistol and there was a group of six to seven people outside but no one was injured.
Officers spoke to one of the victims who was outside and she said that the suspect, Deantashia L. Hardin, 22, of Zion, kicked her and her cousin out of Hardin’s apartment, Cannon said.
The two were leaving but went back because one of them forgot their phone.
Cannon said Hardin’s cousin, who was highly intoxicated, started arguing with them and it eventually turned into a group brawl in the parking lot.
The victim heard a gunshot and someone had fired a gun into the air, causing everyone to separate.
Hardin was located inside her apartment at the location. She said they had a family get-together in Gurnee that moved to Zion, Cannon said.
Hardin said she went to the gas station and she found unknown people in her apartment when she returned and she did not want them there.
Hardin said she kicked them out and when the two women returned to get the phone, they got into an argument, Cannon said.
Hardin admitted she got irritated and was the one who fired the gun. She also admitted to “getting her firearm to scare people,” Cannon said.
Hardin has a Firearm Owner’s Identification card but no concealed carry license. Hardin initially told police she owned a gun but said it was not there.
She then told police it was in her bedroom closet, Cannon said. Hardin gave consent for police to search her apartment and they located a Ruger Max-9 9mm pistol inside a toilet tank.
Hardin was charged with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm, both Class 4 felonies.
“This Defendant is clearly a threat to the community, and to the victim. As to statutory factors of dangerousness, the Court should note that this offense is a crime of violence and involves the use of a weapon,” Cannon said.
At the time of the incident, Hardin was on supervision for misdemeanor battery.
“This Defendant admitted using her firearms as a method of control via fear, and shot her gun into the air when there was a group of people present nearby. She carelessly and callously fired her gun into the air to get people to stop fighting,” Cannon said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Hardin pending trial and Lake County Judge James Newman denied the request, allowing her to be released on pre-trial conditions.
The judge called Hardin’s actions reckless and scolded her that bullets fired into the air come back down and can injure people. He said he believed pre-trial conditions could mitigate the threat she poses.
Hardin is scheduled to appear in court on October 15 for a status of preliminary hearing.