A jury has convicted a Lake Villa man of shooting a 19-year-old employee in the face after he tried preventing the shoplifting suspect from re-entering a Dollar General store in Waukegan.
Kaleb S. Brown, 23, of Lake Villa, was charged in June 2022 with one count of aggravated battery by discharge of a firearm, a Class X felony.
The shooting happened around 7:15 p.m. on February 4, 2022, at the Dollar General, 2613 Grand Avenue in Waukegan, and prompted the response of the Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department.
The victim’s father told Lake and McHenry County Scanner at the time that his son was working as an employee at the store when the shooting happened.
He said that his then-19-year-old son noticed a person shoplifting in the store and asked the person to leave.
“Things escalated. The guy went outside and pulled a gun and shot,” said the victim’s father, who did not want to be publicly identified.
The victim, who is a Waukegan resident, was shot in the face near his eye while trying to shut the store’s front door.
Paramedics transported the man to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment of severe facial injuries. He was later transferred to another hospital for surgery.
The 19-year-old was released from the hospital and underwent several surgeries. “[He’s] doing pretty well for being shot in the head,” the victim’s father said after he was released from the hospital.
The man’s sister said at the time that her brother would need more surgeries for his eye.
“Elvis is a very to himself, quiet person who doesn’t bother anyone. He was simply and unfortunately presented with a person with no humanity or compassion,” she said.
Shortly after the shooting in February 2022, police arrested 15-year-old Martell Williams and prosecutors charged him with attempted murder and aggravated battery.
Prosecutors later dropped the charges against Williams and police eliminated him as the suspect after verifying his whereabouts on the night of the shooting.
Williams, who was a Waukegan High School freshman and basketball player at the time, was attending an away game at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.
Investigators later identified Brown as the gunman and charges were filed against him on June 30, 2022, court records show.
Brown was arrested and transported to the Lake County Jail on July 14, 2022, where he was ordered held on a $500,000 bond.
Brown also had an additional active warrant for possessing a loaded gun in Zion in 2021, court records show.
A jury trial began in the Waukegan shooting case on December 1 and lasted five days.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Lauren Kalcheim Rothenberg, Scott Hoffert and Mary Vukovich called approximately 30 witnesses.
Prosecutors said the employee was shot while attempting to prevent Brown, who was shoplifting, from re-entering the store.
“A hard-working young man was trying to do his job, and the defendant shot him in the face for it,” Kalcheim Rothenberg said during closing arguments.
The jury convicted Brown of the charge, which carries a sentencing range of six to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
“Our experienced Violent Crimes Unit prosecutors, along with our investigators, victim specialists, and support staff have once again secured justice for the victim who endured a senseless, violent attack,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said after the verdict.
“Now, this offender has been held accountable and will face the full consequences of his actions at sentencing,” Rinehart said.
Brown remains held in custody and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 26 for a status on post-trial motions.