DeKalb man convicted of murder in 1990s found guilty of shooting gun outside Marengo restaurant – Shaw Local

A McHenry County judge ruled Tuesday that a man convicted of murder years ago is guilty of firing a gun three times into the air outside a Marengo restaurant last year.

Judge Mark Gerhardt found Rudy A. Villarreal Jr., 50, of DeKalb guilty of use of a firearm as a felon and reckless discharge of a firearm. The judge found Villarreal not guilty of violating a protective order.

Marengo police and district attorneys said that Villarreal — who had a domestic violence restraining order filed against him by a woman just days earlier — went to a Marengo restaurant with another woman around 11 p.m. on June 2, 2023. He knew the first woman would be at the restaurant, which was “a stone's throw” from where they lived, and that they frequently went there together, said Assistant District Attorney William Bruce.

Bruce named several other restaurants in the area that he and the second woman might have gone to that night, but Villarreal knew the first woman would be there and that she was “a jealous person.”

On August 13, the first day of the trial, as Villarreal left the restaurant through the back door they had entered, at least three witnesses testified they saw an altercation between the couple and the woman. Two witnesses said they saw Villarreal fire three times into the air. The third witness said he saw Villarreal pull a gun; the witness said he returned to the restaurant but heard the gun go off.

Prosecutors played a 911 call in court Tuesday in which a woman describes and identifies Villarreal by name and says he fired the gun into the air and ran away. Police testified they found three shell casings in the area where Villarreal is believed to have fired the gun. The woman who has the protection order against Villarreal initially told police Villarreal lifted up his shirt and showed her a gun before shooting her in the air. But when she took the stand on Aug. 13, she said she had her back to him and neither saw him with the gun nor saw him fire it, only heard a loud noise. She described her original statement as “intoxicated words.”

Defense attorneys and Villarreal, who testified Tuesday, said he went to the restaurant with the second woman, who had traveled from Missouri to see him earlier in the day, because she was hungry. He said he didn't think the other woman would be there. Knowing he had a restraining order against him, Villarreal said he quickly turned around to leave when he saw her. He said the woman and three others followed the couple. The woman, who Villarreal said was “very drunk,” charged at him and “went nuts.” Then she became physical with the woman Villarreal was with, he testified. Villarreal said he placed himself between the women to prevent the woman he was with from being attacked. Villarreal denied owning or firing a gun and said he didn't hear or see anyone else with a gun.

When Bruce asked, Villarreal said, “I definitely didn’t have a gun, sir.”

Villarreal also said he did not see the three people who were outside during the incident and testified for the state on August 13. They said they saw him fire a gun three times into the air.

The woman he went to the restaurant with also testified. Prosecutors initially said she heard gunshots as she ran to her car, but on Tuesday she said she did not hear any gunshots because loud music was playing.

In her closing argument, Deputy Public Prosecutor Maria Marek referred to the credibility of the witnesses who testified that they had seen Villarreal fire the gun, as well as to the changing statements of the two women.

Assistant Public Defender Richard Behof argued that Villarreal should be found not guilty, citing poor lighting in the area where the incident occurred and the lack of any video evidence. He said those present had been drinking alcohol and while there were three witnesses who testified he fired the gun, there were three who testified he did not fire the gun. There was also no way to determine when the shell casings found were fired. Behof also said no gun was found.

Villarreal was convicted of murder in Cook County in 1995, prosecutors and Elgin police said.

On Oct. 23, 1993, Villarreal shot another man outside a bar in Elgin, the Chicago Tribune reported at the time of his conviction. He was found guilty and sentenced to 50 years in prison, but was released in 2018, an Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman said.

Gerhardt, who said he did not take Villarreal's previous convictions into account in his decision, revoked Villarreal's provisional release on Tuesday and set sentencing for Oct. 11.