Judge orders man who allegedly shot at a vehicle near McHenry in an act of ‘road rage’ held without bond

A Waukegan man charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting at a vehicle in April near McHenry, in what was described by police as a “road rage incident,” was ordered Wednesday held in the McHenry County Jail without bond.

Juan A. Colon, 26, who police tried to locate for more than a month before his arrest Friday, refused to come out of his jail cell and into court Wednesday morning for his bond hearing.

In addition to the Class X felony attempted murder charge, Colon also was charged with being an armed habitual criminal, also a Class X felony, as well as three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm and unlawful use or possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the criminal complaint.

If convicted on the Class X charges, Colon faces decades in prison and the charges are not probational, McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt said.

The incident occurred about 12:30 p.m. in the 800 block of Black Partridge Road, near South River Road, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office said.

In court Wednesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Maria Marek said the incident began when the alleged victim said he heard a loud bang and saw that someone in a black Lincoln SUV passing him along River Road threw a bottle at his vehicle. He followed behind the SUV when it turned off River Road onto Partridge Road, according to court documents and Marek.

The SUV pulled over and two men – subsequently identified as Colon, who was the passenger, and the driver, Joseph W. Crisara III, 34, of Island Lake – got out and began yelling at him, Marek said.

The man later identified as Colon ran over to the man’s vehicle and shot at the driver’s side door with a semiautomatic pistol, Marek said. The bullet landed in the door, just seven millimeters from the man’s shoulder, she said.

The man’s vehicle was equipped with a dash camera, which recorded most of the incident but not that shooting, according to testimony provided Wednesday by McHenry County Sheriff’s Detective Keith Sosnowski.

The man said he then sprayed Colon with pepper spray and Colon ran back toward the other side of his vehicle, stumbled and shot his pistol two more times, which is captured in the video, Sosnowski said.

The pair then returned to the SUV and drove off.

Upon cross examination Wednesday, Assistant Public Defender Ryan Ahern asked the detective if the vehicle the alleged victim was driving was “chasing behind” the SUV before the incident and whether wording on his vanity license plate stood for “vigilante,” to which Assistant State’s Attorney Ashley Romito objected and so the detective didn’t answer.

Vehicle registration information led police to Crisara at an Island Lake address. The house address also is listed in court documents as being Crisara’s residence.

There, detectives also found clothing matching what the two men were wearing in the dash camera recording, the black SUV they were driving, and store receipts with Colon’s name matching items found in the black SUV, Sosnowski said.

Detectives also found large amounts of narcotics and marijuana in the home, he said.

Crisara, also in custody at the McHenry County Jail, has pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of and possession with the intent to deliver more than 200 grams of psilocybin – the hallucinogenic chemical obtained from certain types of mushrooms – as well as between 2,000 and 5,000 grams of marijuana as well as concealing or aiding a fugitive and obstruction of justice, court records show.

Members of the Waukegan Police Department who know Colon identified him through screenshots from the dash camera video, and items belonging to Colon were found at the Island Lake home, including one black and white Nike flip flop matching one found at the scene of the shooting, according to court documents and Sosnowski.

In asking that Colon be held without bond, Romito asked Wilbrandt to take note of his behavior Wednesday in refusing to come into court and said he has been “menacing Lake County for years.”

Colon was out on parole for just a few weeks on April 24 when the alleged shooting occurred, she said. She listed convictions Colon has in Lake County dating back to 2012, including aggravated battery, predatory criminal sexual assault, unlawful use of a firearm by a felon and attempted robbery.

“There is no condition of bond that could protect himself or the public,” Romito said.

In asking Wilbrandt to set “a reasonable bond,” Ahern acknowledged Colon’s lengthy criminal background, but said he is not a threat to society. He also said the alleged victim did not identify Colon as the shooter.

Ahern also questioned the delay in investigators finding the spent cartridge casings at the scene and said that DNA taken from the passenger side of the SUV has yet to be identified.

Wilbrandt agreed with prosecutors, saying Colon “poses [danger] to the public” and “the presumption is great he fired at least two shots.” He ordered he be held without bond.

The judge set June 8 for arraignment and said Colon is required to attend. Crisara is due back in court Aug. 10.