A judge denied pre-trial release to a self-admitted gunman charged with murder after opening fire at a crowd, killing a Round Lake Beach teen, at a party in Ingleside, saying he showed “no regard for human life.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 11:15 p.m. Friday to the 35700 block of North Wilson Road in Ingleside for a report of shots fired.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Cannon said deputies arrived and found the victim, Alejandro Castaneda, 19, of Round Lake Beach, lying in the driveway with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Deputies and paramedics attempted lifesaving measures on the victim but he was later pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting happened during a birthday party at the home and deputies spoke with various partygoers, who told them that an argument occurred at the end of the driveway between two large groups, Cannon said.
One of the groups included Yurem Mejia-Gomez, 18, of Round Lake Beach, and another person, who was asked to leave after he got intoxicated and argumentative with others.
Castaneda was one of the people in the other group. Mejia-Gomez’s group displayed Latin King hand gestures and mottos.
The group Castaneda was with made “anti-Latin King hand gestures and mottos” in response, Cannon said.
Mejia-Gomez’s group of friends then left the home and witnesses reported a “warning gunshot” was heard followed by three shots, Cannon said.
Witnesses saw Castaneda, who was standing in the driveway, fall to the ground after being shot in the chest.
Deputies located three 10mm casings at the scene, including one north of the driveway in the travel path of a black Infiniti and two casings located south near the driveway.
Cannon said detectives obtained video surveillance footage from the area that captured one of the group members’ distinct silver Chevrolet Camaro as well as the black Infiniti sedan driving past the residence in opposite directions when the shooting occurred.
Deputies went to the home of the owner of the silver Camaro and found him along with a juvenile witness.
He was interviewed and told investigators that the shooting came from the Infiniti — not his car — and that Mejia-Gomez was a passenger in the Infiniti.
The man said he knew where the gun was, where the Infiniti was and where the driver of the Infiniti lived, Cannon said.
Detectives surveilled the locations and seized the black Infiniti, which was determined to be registered to the mother of the man who drove it during the shooting, in the 300 block of Meadow Green Lane in Round Lake Beach.
Mejia-Gomez, the driver of the Infiniti and a juvenile witness arrived in a red truck belonging to Mejia-Gomez’s father while law enforcement was conducting surveillance at a home in Round Lake Beach, Cannon said.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said Sheriff’s Explosive Detection Canine Zack alerted to the truck and a backpack was located inside the vehicle.
A search of the backpack led to the recovery of a stolen 10mm firearm, Covelli said. A box of 10mm ammunition was also found in the vehicle.
The driver of the Infiniti on the night of the shooting identified Mejia-Gomez as the gunman.
Mejia-Gomez was interviewed and admitted to shooting Castaneda.
He told detectives that he had his right hand out of the window after getting into the car and that the juvenile who was with them was in his lap when he pulled the trigger towards two heavier-set Hispanic males, Cannon said.
Mejia-Gomez claimed that they displayed a gun, which made him scared. Mejia-Gomez also said he felt sorry for the victim’s family, Cannon said.
“There’s certainly no evidence to support that he would have been in any kind of realistic fear at the time he decided to fire shots,” Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Facklam said.
Mejia-Gomez just turned 18 weeks before the shooting occurred. He has no Firearm Owner’s Identification card or concealed carry license and is not legally able to possess firearms.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and approved charges against Mejia-Gomez for two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm.
“Our patrol deputies, detectives, and explosive detection canine team worked tirelessly to identify and apprehend the person responsible for this senseless act of violence,” Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said.
“Their swift and thorough investigation demonstrates the dedication of our team to ensuring that those who harm others are held accountable as quickly as possible,” Idleburg said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Mejia-Gomez pending trial, saying that he remains a danger to the community and took steps to try to conceal the murder weapon after fleeing the scene.
“While seated in a moving vehicle driving away from a house party, this Defendant first fired a ‘warning shot,’ before shooting at a group of people in the driveway. The Defendant’s bullet fatally struck the teenaged victim in the chest,” Cannon said.
“This incredibly cruel, senseless, and tragic act of gun violence happened on a Friday evening in a residential neighborhood where large groups of people, including many teenaged adults and juveniles, were celebrating a friend’s birthday,” Cannon added.
Mejia-Gomez appeared for a detention hearing on Tuesday afternoon and Lake County Judge James Newman granted the petition.
Facklam said during the hearing that it was “completely unfortunate” and “absolutely tragic” that someone’s life was taken because of Mejia-Gomez’s actions.
The judge said Mejia-Gomez made a “horrible decision” and that it was fortunate only one person was killed considering the number of people present.
“He has absolutely no regard for human life in this county. He certainly has no regard for what this court could possibly put as a [pre-trial release] condition,” Newman said, adding that the man poses a real and present threat to the community.
An obituary for Castaneda, written in Spanish, said that the man was a “light in the lives of those who knew him” and he leaves behind a “legacy of love, friendship and courage.”
A visitation is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. Sunday at Justen Funeral Home in Round Lake followed by a funeral mass at 9:30 a.m. Monday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Round Lake.
Mejia-Gomez remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on November 5 for a preliminary hearing.