Police arrested a gunman who admitted to firing shots at his ex-girlfriend’s car that was parked on a residential street in Waukegan just after he began leaving “crazy” voicemails.
A woman went to the Waukegan Police Department around 2 a.m. on November 13 to report that her ex-boyfriend had shot up her car.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Kailey Hopkins said the victim reported she was inside her residence on Northfield Avenue in Waukegan.
She had been receiving “crazy” voicemails from her ex-boyfriend, Brandon Aguilar, 24, of Waukegan.
She could hear loud music in some of the voicemails and could barely make out what Aguilar was saying, Hopkins said.
She then heard loud music coming from outside her residence and an engine revving.
She heard two gunshots and went outside to find two bullet holes in the side of her vehicle.
Hopkins said the victim provided officers with the description of Aguilar’s vehicle and officers located the car and found him on the way home.
Officers arrested him following a traffic stop and searched his car.
They found a revolver in an area beneath the cupholder, Hopkins said. The revolver had five spent casings inside.
Aguilar was interviewed and admitted the gun belonged to him and also admitted to driving to his ex-girlfriend’s residence and shooting her vehicle, Hopkins said.
He said he shot the car because he wanted to disable it and did not want her to drive.
The victim lives in a residential area and the shooting happened in the middle of the night when residents were sleeping in their homes.
Hopkins said the victim has neighbors who live across the street and officers noted there were children’s toys scattered on the lawn. A neighbor was standing outside smoking a cigarette around the time of the shooting.
Aguilar was charged with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm.
“He shot his weapon at the victim’s vehicle which was parked in front of people’s homes, at a time when people were present. That conduct inherently put those individuals at risk and created a dangerous and harmful situation to those residents,” Hopkins said.
Aguilar has a prior conviction for aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon in a 2024 Lake County case where he was sentenced to probation but prosecutors have since filed a petition to revoke his probation for failing to comply with it.
Aguilar also has two other pending criminal cases from this year, including an unlawful possession of ammunition case.
“This defendant has demonstrated that he is a danger to this victim, but he is also a serious danger to the community. He has demonstrated through his actions that there are no conditions nor combination of conditions which he would abide by given his history of failing to comply with court orders,” Hopkins said.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted a petition to detain filed by prosecutors to hold Aguilar in custody while he awaits trial.
Aguilar remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 21 for a pre-trial hearing.