Trial begins for convicted killer charged with shooting a gun outside of Marengo restaurant

Details of an alleged shooting at a Marengo restaurant last year emerged on the first day of the trial of the accused man in McHenry County court.

Prosectors are pursuing the following charges against Rudy A. Villarreal Jr., 49: possessing a firearm as a felon, reckless discharge of a firearm and violating an order of protection.

Assistant State’s Attorney William Bruce alleged that Villarreal pulled a gun from his waistband and shot it into the air three times during the argument at the now-shuttered Casa Botanera restaurant on June 2, 2023. Bruce described Villarreal’s actions as “reckless” and endangered the lives and safety of the people around him.

The defense declined to provide an opening statement.

Authorities allege that Villarreal was in violation of an order of protection at the time stemming from battery charges filed against him about a week earlier. The woman he was accused of battering, and who took out of the order of protection, was in the restaurant when Villarreal allegedly fired the weapon, according to officials and court records.

The owner of Casa Botanera, Maria Wrona, said she knew of Villarreal through the woman and he would visit often. At around 11 p.m. June 2 during a birthday party, Villarreal entered the restaurant and quickly left out the back door. The woman who had an order of protection against Villarreal confronted him outside the restaurant, leading to a verbal argument, according to testimony. Wrona testified that she watched the argument from about 10 feet away from them when “he pulled out a gun and shot up to the sky” and then ran away.

“I was in shock. I was nervous,” Wrona said.

The woman who had an order of protection against Villarreal testified Tuesday that she was arguing with Villarreal and another woman outside when she heard loud noises that sounded like “fireworks.”

“I didn’t know what I heard. It was behind me,” she said.

The woman said she had “too many” alcoholic drinks that night and doesn’t remember ever seeing Villarreal with a gun or shooting a gun, but her original statement to police noted he had a gun and shot it into the air. She described her original statement as “intoxicated words.”

Emma Wrona, a Casa Botanera employee and daughter of the owner, testified that she remembers seeing the woman facing Villarreal when he pulled the gun out from his waistband and fired it into the air. Casings were also found by her and police afterwards, she said.

The trail will continue on Aug. 27, according to court records.

Villarreal, who has a listed home address in DeKalb, was originally charged with armed violence, harassment of a witness, unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, reckless discharge of a firearm and violation of an order of protection, according to a motion filed in McHenry County court. Villarreal also was charged with unlawful use of a weapon and possessing a firearm in a liquor establishment, according to the complaint. But prosecutors chose to pursue the narrower set of charges at his trial. It’s a bench trial, meaning Villarreal agreed to have a judge, rather than a jury, decide the outcome.

Villarreal is accused of arguing with the woman outside the restaurant last year. This put him in violation of an order of protection against him, and police allege Villarreal knew she would be there, the motion said. The protective order was in place in connection with the alleged battery on May 27. In that case, Villarreal is accused of striking the woman and putting his hands on her neck, according to court testimony.

Villarreal was convicted of a 1993 murder in Cook County, according to the McHenry County complaint and authorities. He was released in 2018 after serving 23 years, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Corrections said.

Villarreal’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Richard Behof, said at a previous hearing that when Villarreal realized the woman was in the restaurant, he “tried to vacate the premises,” and the woman “began to attack not only” Villarreal but a woman who was with him, according to court testimony.

The woman who request the protective order also provided a written statement saying that Villarreal “had been making accusations against her and communicating with her since she got the order of protection. She also wrote that a friend was making threats to her and intimidating her,” according to the prosecutor’s motion.

Villarreal was arrested about five days after the alleged shooting in Marengo. He had been held on a $300,000 bond, requiring he post $30,000 to be released. After the SAFE-T Act went into effect earlier last year, Villarreal was released from jail with conditions, including that he wear a GPS monitor and refrained from having any communication with the alleged victim, the judge’s order said.