Dixon man accused of attempted murder will remain jailed despite defense’s new arguments

OREGON – A rural Dixon man charged with the attempted murder of three police officers at his residence in June will remain jailed despite new information argued by the defense calling the incident a “paradox of a welfare check.”

Jonathon Gounaris, 32, 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 – all of which stem from a June 12 standoff with police in the rural Dixon subdivision of Lost Lake.

Gounaris has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held in the Winnebago County Jail in Rockford.

On Thursday, Gounaris appeared for a status hearing before Judge John “Ben” Roe, during which Ogle County Assistant Public Defender Michael O’Brien argued for his release.

O’Brien said that at the June 20 detention hearing, one argument was not made regarding the circumstances surrounding officers' entry to the home at 402 Wild Rice Lane in Lost Lake.

During that hearing, Gounaris was represented by former Ogle County Public Defender William Gibbs, who has since left that position.

At a news conference June 12, Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle said police were called at 8:39 a.m. that day to the residence with a warning that it could be a “suicide-by-cop” situation. The officers were informed that Gounaris had made suicidal and homicidal threats.

[ Sheriff: Rural Dixon resident shoots 3 deputies after barricading himself in home at Lost Lake ]

Shortly after officers arrived, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office’s Emergency Response Team was called. The ERT is made up of individuals from different agencies, including the sheriff’s office, Oregon and Byron police departments, and SWAT medics from the Rochelle Fire Department.

Police made more than 60 attempted phone calls to the residence, Gounaris' cellphone and to a throw phone that was deployed inside the home, VanVickle said.

At 11:53 a.m., police breached the door to the home and were immediately met with gunfire from inside the house, VanVickle said. Three deputies and Gounaris were shot while exchanging gunfire.

(To view the body camera footage, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zEhLBrcn0g.)

In court Thursday, O’Brien said “the call [to police] was made because of mental health concerns.”

He said Gounaris' mother told police on June 12 that she didn’t know what to do about her son’s mental health. She talked about an emotional outburst as well as homicidal and suicidal comments that Gounaris had made in the past, O’Brien said.

When police arrived at the residence, they never announced themselves as police over a loud speaker, he said. Instead, they established a perimeter far away from the home and concealed themselves and their vehicles.

At 11:02 a.m., two deputies approached the house without announcing themselves as police and deployed a throw phone into the home, O’Brien said. They received no communication from Gounaris and tried to enter the home, he said.

“They had their guns drawn and forcibly kicked in the door,” O’Brien said. “This is not something that was a community caretaking entry.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kruse disagreed.

Kruse said Gounaris' mother told authorities that her son suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and, in general, hated police. She said that her son had barricaded himself in the home and threatened to kill himself or anyone else who tried to talk to him.

The mother also informed police that Gounaris had access to two guns, Kruse said.

“The officers went there to make sure the public is safe,” she said.

Kruse said police made multiple calls to the residence before deploying the throw phone, which was done before entry was made.

When officers did breach the door to the residence, “the defendant fired before anybody entered the home,” she said.

Gounaris was wearing a bullet-proof vest and began “shooting multiple rounds not only into but also at officers,” Kruse said. Three of them were struck and injured.

O’Brien disagreed. He called the incident a “paradox of the welfare check.”

“The context does matter,” O’Brien said. “Officers went to that residence to check on a suicidal subject.”

While in custody, Gounaris has continued to follow up with mental health services and hasn’t missed a dose of medications prescribed for his mental health, O’Brien said. In the past month, Gounaris also has started an additional prescription that is helping, O’Brien said.

Kruse disagreed.

“I urge you not to make the leap,” she said.

Gounaris still is a danger while “he’s taking unspecified medications for an unspecified mental health condition,” she said.

Kruse said Gounaris has a history of refusing to get treatment for his mental health, including a dislike of taking medications. When Gounaris was 20 years old, he was seeing a psychiatrist but abruptly stopped going to appointments because he didn’t want to get help, she said.

O’Brien disagreed. There are certain conditions to his release that would mitigate the risk to the public, like stay-away orders or GPS tracking, he said.

Kruse disagreed.

She said GPS tracking assumes that the public is safe if law enforcement knows where that individual is.

Gounaris was in his home when this incident occurred, Kruse said.

“Knowing where the defendant is would not mitigate the danger to the public,” she said.

Roe acknowledged the new arguments presented by the defense.

“There’s certainly some issues that the court can consider,” Roe said.

Still, Roe denied any condition for release based on the extensive previous arguments made by the state.

Gounaris’ next court appearance is at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 6.

Usually the court schedules status hearings about a month apart, but O’Brien requested an earlier date “because there’s some issues with Gounaris' detention that I want to address promptly,” O’Brien said.

Kruse made no objection, and Roe granted the request.