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A Hennepin man pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Thursday for pulling a gun during a 2021 argument at the Peru YMCA.
Mark J. Judd, 42, was awaiting trial in La Salle County Circuit Court on a charge of unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony carrying up to three years in prison. When he appeared Thursday, however, the felony was dismissed and Judd instead pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor unlawful use of a weapon.
Judd pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years of conditional discharge, a non-reporting form of probation, plus 90 days in jail. He is to report Nov. 4 and, with three days of credit and day-for-day good time, could be home before Christmas.
Assistant La Salle County State’s Attorney Jeremiah Adams said in open court that Peru police responded Oct. 23, 2021, to the Illinois Valley YMCA. There, a man with a gun had called 911 to say he was attacked and pulled the weapon to defend himself. The gun, Adams said, was confiscated and will be destroyed.
Surveillance, Adams said, showed Judd was approached by two men and he pulled a gun. Judd did not have a valid concealed carry permit. When interviewed, Adams said, Judd admitted pulling and pointing the loaded gun.
Judd, he said, had no previous criminal history.
When reached for comment, Judd provided a lengthy statement in which he said he was acting not only in self-defense but also to protect a woman, a minor whose name is redacted here, who also risked injury.
“I truly had no choice to protect myself and (the young woman’s) life but to draw my firearm,” Judd wrote. “I had my concealed carry for five years and it expired during COVID and that timeframe. I’ve never pulled it besides to safely store it at night.”
The two men involved in the altercation also were charged. Andrew L. Martinez, 38, of Utica was placed on conditional discharge after pleading guilty to misdemeanor battery in 2022. Joshua M. Martinez, 40, of DePue was charged with misdemeanor assault but the charge was later dismissed.