Dixon man accused of attempted murder receives 770 pages of evidence at court hearing

OREGON – A rural Dixon man charged with attempting to murder three police officers in June was presented Thursday with 770 pages of police reports, medical records and other evidence that will be presented as his case proceeds through the courts.

Jonathon Gounaris, 32, received the paperwork during a status hearing in Ogle County.

Following a June 12 standoff with police in the rural Dixon subdivision of Lost Lake, Gounaris is charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, three counts of aggravated battery and two counts of possession of a firearm without a firearm owner’s identification card. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held in the Winnebago County Jail in Rockford.

On Thursday, Gounaris appeared before Judge John “Ben” Roe for the status hearing. He was escorted into court by three Winnebago County corrections officers and two Ogle County court deputies. He wore a yellow jumpsuit issued to inmates, handcuffs and leg irons.

Ogle County Assistant Public Defender Michael O’Brien told Roe that he’s been having trouble scheduling meetings with Gounaris and consequently has not been able to deliver the discovery, which is necessary for Gounaris to review.

Discovery refers to the formal process where parties involved in a court case exchange information about the case, intended to prevent “trial by ambush” in which one side is surprised by evidence at trial that they had no prior knowledge of.

In Gounaris’ case, that discovery is about 770 pages long and cannot be sent to him through the mail because there’s a limit to the number of pages allowed to be sent, according to O’Brien.

At an Oct. 17 status hearing, an order was made for the release of that information, which includes police reports and hospital records of the officers who were shot. Excluded, however, is video, cellphone and iPad data.

O’Brien was granted permission to give those documents to Gounaris at the hearing Thursday and made a motion to continue his review with Gounaris with no objection from Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock.

Rock then asked for Gounaris’ continued detention.

O’Brien disagreed and asked for his release. He pointed to Gounaris being moved to “the general population” at the Winnebago County Jail and regularly attending Bible study as positive behaviors.

A condition of his release would be to seek counseling and other treatments for mental health because “addressing that issue would mitigate the threat to society,” O’Brien said.

Gounaris’ defense has continued to argue for his release so he can receive mental health treatment. Despite those arguments, Gounaris has remained in jail.

On Thursday, Roe again denied the request for his release and ruled for “continued detention until the next court date based on the previous rulings and findings,” he said.

Gounaris is charged with shooting three members of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team after a three-hour standoff when police tried to enter his home at 402 Wild Rice Lane in Lost Lake.

The ERT is made up of individuals from agencies including the sheriff’s office, Oregon and Byron police departments, and SWAT medics from the Rochelle Fire Department.

Ogle County Sheriff’s Lt. Jason Ketter was shot in the face and taken by air ambulance to OSF Medical Center in Rockford, where he underwent surgery. He was released from the hospital June 14.

Ogle County Sheriff’s Deputy Tad Dominski was shot in the arm, and Tyler Carls of the Rochelle Fire Department was shot in the torso. They were treated at KSB Hospital in Dixon and released later that evening.

Gounaris also was shot during the gunfire exchange and was taken to KSB Hospital in Dixon, where he was treated before being booked into the Winnebago County Jail on June 18.

Gounaris’ next court appearance is at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 19.