Alleged Shooter Arrested, Released, Arrested Again
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (STMW) -- A 44-year-old man arrested for shooting his neighbor in Venetian Village made bail and was released, and was arrested again Tuesday, Sept. 18, for violating an order of protection filed by the family of the neighbor who was shot.
Frank Gue, 44, of the 36000 block of Alice Lane was arrested by the Lake County Sheriff's Office on charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm and reckless conduct, felonies that mean he could face up to 15 years in prison, said Lake County Assistant States Attorney Stephen Scheller.
Gue was arrested Friday evening, Sept. 13, after he allegedly shot his neighbor, Jeff Johnson, while the two of them shared beers in Johnson's garage and talk turned to guns.
Gue went and retrieved his gun and brought it back to the garage and handed it to Johnson. Johnson noticed it was loaded and he unloaded it.
"At some point, Gue put the magazine back in the gun, pointed it at his neighbor and fired," said Schuller.
He said they asked for $50,000 bond, but the judge set it at $25,000, and Gue was able to bond out and return home. Gue said it was an accident. Schuller said the sheriff's deputy said Gue was highly intoxicated at the scene.
Joan Johnson said her daughter-in-law and grandkids were frightened of Gue.
While the bullet went through her son, she said it hit his spleen and diaphragm, broke two ribs, and nicked his lung and intestines.
"He had emergency surgery that night," she said.
She also said the two were not friends. "They would just be nice to him because he was a neighbor," she said.
"People need to be made aware of this guy. He needs to be watched," Joan said. The family got an order of protection against Gue that said he could not come within 750 feet of the family and a judge explained that to him Monday.
On Tuesday, he was still at home and a sheriff's deputy arrested him for violating the order of protection. He was in Lake County Jail Wednesday night on $50,000 bond.
Joan said the doctor told her Jeff was lucky.
"The doctor said one inch more and it would have gone through his heart," claiming that it was a hollow-point slug designed to do more damage when it enters a person or animal.
"This is a scary time for all of us," she said. "This crime was not an accident," she said.
Sgt. Sara Balmes, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said it was not an accidental shooting. "It was a negligent act.
He did purposely pull the trigger," she said after talking with the detective handling the case.
Johnson said her son is recovering.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
