Waukegan Man Charged After 17 Shots Fired Into Gurnee Home

GURNEE, Ill. — A 19-year-old Waukegan man has been charged after prosecutors say he fired 17 shots into a Gurnee home occupied by a family following a dispute involving messages between juveniles.

Rony G. Sabillon-Canales has been charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm into an occupied building, a Class 1 felony. He remains in custody at the Lake County Jail.

The shooting happened shortly after 1 a.m. on August 15 in the 2400 block of Lawson Boulevard in Gurnee. Prosecutors say multiple bullets entered the home and traveled through a room where members of the family were sitting. No injuries were reported.

The investigation found that one of the children living at the home had exchanged messages with another juvenile earlier that night. Sabillon-Canales was reportedly in a relationship with the juvenile who received the messages and became upset after learning about the exchange.

Surveillance footage captured a vehicle resembling Sabillon-Canales’ car in the neighborhood about an hour before the shooting, according to prosecutors. Cell phone records also placed his phone in the area.

Additional surveillance footage showed two people walking toward the residence before one person opened fire in the direction of the home while the other ran away. Both then fled the area.

A vehicle believed to be Sabillon-Canales’ was also captured by a Gurnee police squad car near the area shortly after officers received the report of gunfire.

Investigators recovered 17 spent shell casings from the roadway. Prosecutors said a witness later identified Sabillon-Canales as the shooter.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffery Facklam told the court the shooting was retaliation over the messages and said Sabillon-Canales fired without regard for the safety of the people inside the residence.

Sabillon-Canales was born in Honduras and has lived in the United States since 2019. He had no prior criminal history, according to information presented during his detention hearing.

His defense attorney sought his release while the case proceeds, but Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted prosecutors’ request to keep Sabillon-Canales detained. The judge cited the planning involved in the reported shooting and the danger posed to the community.

A warrant for Sabillon-Canales’ arrest was issued August 25. He remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to return to court September 24 for a preliminary hearing.