Joliet man charged with shooting said victim disparaged his leather pants, prosecutors say

A Joliet man allegedly fired off gunshots at a family party that left three people wounded following an argument with a man who disparaged his leather pants, prosecutors said.

Michael Gallegos, 34, faces three aggravated battery charges over a shooting last Saturday that injured a 38-year-old man, a 55-year-old woman and a 32-year-old woman.

Gallegos is also charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by felon.

The shooting took place on Sunmeadow Drive, an area that is within the city limits of Joliet but has a Plainfield mailing address.

Assistant State’s Attorney Derein Rogers successfully persuaded Will County Judge Derek Ewanic to keep Gallegos in jail under the SAFE-T Act, court records show.

Some witnesses were not cooperative in the investigation of the shooting, according to a court filing from Assistant State’s Attorney James Long.

One of them was a victim of the shooting and another was a woman who is the mother of Gallegos’ child, Long said.

The latter woman refused to answer questions about who owned the firearm and denied knowing Gallegos' last name “despite them sharing a child with that last name,” Long said.

Gallegos allegedly admitted to officers he brought a 9 mm Glock handgun to the party and it went off several times during a struggle with another person for control of the firearm, Long said.

Gallegos accused a 38-year-old man of making “disparaging comments to him regarding his leather pants,” Long said.

After that comment, Gallegos allegedly expressed his desire to leave the party to the woman who is the mother of his child and who is also the sister of the 38-year-old man, according to Long.

But the woman’s family “didn’t want her to leave,” Long said.

The 38-year-old man asked Gallegos to “meet him in the garage,” and two other family members followed, Long said. They started “swinging and tussling” with Gallegos, he said.

Gallegos allegedly “reached for his gun,” which he carries with him and had on his waistband even though he is “not allowed to carry one legally,” Long said.

One of the female shooting victims allegedly told police the 38-year-old man and Gallegoes have “ongoing issues” over the way Gallegos treats the 38-year-old man’s sister, Long said.

Gallegos allegedly told police he threw the firearm “in the pond near the rear of the house,” Long said.