Man charged with firing gun inside Wonder Lake home, restraining woman when she ended relationship

A Belvidere man is accused of firing a gun and restraining a person inside a home in Wonder Lake on Tuesday night, according to court documents.

Austin M. Lukac, 22, is charged with aggravated restraint, restraint, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, reckless discharge of a firearm, domestic battery and assault, court records show.

Lukac was armed with a black Sig Sauer firearm and shot the gun at a wall after a woman in the home said she did not want to be in a relationship with Lukac anymore, Assistant State’s Attorney Julio Cantre said during Lukac’s initial jail appearance before Judge Cynthia Lamb on Wednesday. Lukac also “used his hands to restrain” the person on the bed and “covered her mouth” to prevent her from leaving or calling for help, according to a complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court.

Over objections from prosecutors, Lamb approved pretrial release for Lukac with conditions including GPS supervision and a requirement to stay at least 5 miles away from the woman’s house, to have no contact with her and to turn over any guns to police. Lukac is allowed to leave the state only for work purposes as a carpenter, according to court documents.

Cantre asked for Lukac to be detained, saying that he is a “real and present threat to the safety” of the woman. Cantre described Lukac as “impulsive” and “dangerous” because he held a gun to his head before firing it at a wall.

“He completely lost total control,” Cantre said. “There’s no way of putting the bullet back inside the gun.”

The woman hid in a closet and armed herself with scissors for self-defense because she was “so terrified, so desperate and afraid for her life,” Cantre said.

Assistant Public Defender David Giesinger argued that Lukac has no criminal history and lives far enough away from the woman to allow for safe supervision. In a statement to police, the woman answered “no” to questions such as whether she believed Lukac would kill her or hurt her, Giesinger said.

“It paints a very different picture from what the state’s attorney’s office is saying,” he said.

Lukac is due in court Jan. 29.