Dixon man charged with attempted murder of three police officers seeks release for mental health treatment

OREGON — A rural Dixon man charged with the attempted murder of three police officers at his residence in June will remain jailed while an Ogle County judge reviews arguments for his release made by the defense.

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.

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Ogle County Assistant Public Defender Michael O'Brien speaks with client Jonathon Gounaris during a hearing at the Judicial Center in Oregon on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Alex T. Paschal)

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

Monday morning, Gounaris appeared before Judge John “Ben” Roe where Ogle County Assistant Public Defender Michael O’Brien argued for his release in order to receive adequate mental health treatment. O’Brien asserts that Gounaris' “delusional” and “paranoid” mental state led to the June 12 standoff with police.

Roe has denied Gounaris’ pretrial release about 12 times, citing the seriousness of the charges and community safety concerns. Judge Anthony Peska initially denied his release at a detention hearing June 20, 2024.

O’Brien said one argument was not made at that detention hearing pertaining to 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.

O’Brien also said Peska’s ruling for detention shifted the burden, which is supposed to be on the state, to Gounaris “because he hasn’t been able to point to a specific [mental health] diagnosis while sitting in jail.”

“He [Gounaris] doesn’t have to proved his innocence,” O’Brien said.

Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kruse disagreed.

“There were no errors made by the court,” Kruse said.

Peska considered the conditions for release, denied them and explained why, she said.

At a news conference June 12, 2024, 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.

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 OSF Saint Katharine Medical Center – which at the time was KSB Hospital – in Dixon and released later that evening.

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

In September, Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley independently reviewed the Ogle County Response Team’s use of force and determined the deputies acted in accordance with the law because they only fired their weapons after being shot at by Gounaris.

In court Monday, O’Brien questioned that use of force by elaborating on an 11-page motion he filed March 6 which outlines all the reasons he believes Roe should grant Gounaris' release.

In the motion, he argues that police used “military-like arrest tactics to check on a paranoid individual. This is unreasonable and a clear unnecessary escalation of the situation.”

The call was made to police because Gounaris’ mother was concerned for her son’s mental health. Their subsequent response was a “very funny looking welfare check,” O’Brien said.

When police arrived at the residence June 12, 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, did not attempt to obtain a warrant and tried to enter the home, he said.

It was a “very violent entry into the home” consisting of “several armed officers kicking down a door,” O’Brien said. “If it is truly a community caretaking entry you don’t come in guns a-blazing.”

O’Brien said police knew that Gounaris was alone in the home and, therefore, did not pose a threat to anyone else.

Kruse disagreed.

“This wasn’t a man who was having a mental health crisis. This was a man that wanted to kill someone,” Kruse said.

She said this is evidenced by Gounaris being found by police to be wearing ballistic body armor while armed with two handguns, pepper spray and a knife.

“This wasn’t suicide by cop. This was kill a cop. That’s why he was wearing a bullet proof vest,” Kruse said.

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

Based on the seriousness of the offense and her previous arguments Kruse requested continued detention and that the motion to reconsider be denied. She said there are no protections or conditions for release that would mitigate the risk to the public.

O’Brien disagreed and pointed to many conditions for release which he’s asserted at previous hearings including GPS monitoring, no contact orders and receiving mental health treatment.

“The court is going to take this matter under advisement,” Roe said.

Gounaris' next court appearance is set for 3:30 p.m. April 7. Roe ruled for continued detention until that date where he’ll have a written decision on the issue of detention.

In favor of the defense, Roe granted O’Brien’s request to show four video clips of body camera footage from June 12.

The prosecution argued against showing the footage because they show events which have already been discussed at length and playing them “out of context is inappropriate,” Kruse said.

Roe told O’Brien to compile those videos and present them to the prosecution.

At the April hearing, the court will hear arguments for another motion O’Brien filed March 6 which asks Roe to “appoint an expert and/or reimburse defense costs to assist in presenting a change of venue request,” the motion says.

A change-of-venue motion typically asks the judge to move the trial to a different location. Those motions usually cite reasons that the filing party believes would prevent a fair trial in the county in which the case was filed. Pretrial publicity often is listed as a reason for a change-of-venue motion.

In his motion, O’Brien argues the court should allow and pay for a company to “explore the likelihood that this case should be tried” in a different county because there exists “prejudice against” Gounaris and he cannot receive a fair trial in Ogle County.