Three men who found themselves facing gun charges under unusual circumstances have received probation in separate plea agreements.
First up is Alexander Carr. Prosecutors charged him with felony aggravated discharge of a firearm after he allegedly fired a shotgun through the floor of a Wicker Park apartment on March 14, much to the surprise of the woman who lived downstairs.
The woman called 911 after she heard a gunshot and discovered a hole in her home’s ceiling on the 1600 block of West North Avenue.
Police allegedly found empty shotgun shells and 30-year-old Carr in the upstairs unit. But cops never found a firearm, according to their report.
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Prosecutors reached an agreement with Carr in which he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor reckless conduct in exchange for an 18-month probation term. The felony aggravated discharge count was dropped.
Next, there’s the case of 20-year-old Malcom Ryce. On January 10, Ryce allegedly shot himself in the leg as he sat inside a car on the 800 block of North Cambridge.
Prosecutors charged him with unlawful possession of a handgun and, adding insult to injury, with reckless conduct causing bodily harm — even though the bodily harm was to himself. A grand jury later returned four gun-related felony charges against him.
Prosecutors have now agreed to let Ryce plead guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor firearm possession. He received a sentence of 18-months probation and 50 hours of community service from Judge Shelley Sutker-Dermer.
Finally, a man who allegedly fired a handgun into the air during a dispute in the Loop — sending one round flying through a high-rise apartment window — has received a sentence of two-years probation.
“I was walking by when this happened. Have heard 4-5 shots,” former Fox32 reporter Dakarai Turner tweeted after the incident early on November 17, 2019. The gunman, Turner said, was “angry and shouting about something. He addressed me as I walked by him.”
Officers responded to the 1000 block of South State and took G. Elente Collins, age 25, into custody. Police said they recovered three shell casings and a handgun at the scene. Prosecutors charged him with felony reckless discharge of a firearm and misdemeanor criminal damage.
In a plea deal with prosecutors, Collins has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor firearm possession. Three felony counts of reckless firearm discharge were dropped in the agreement. Judge Steven Watkins sentenced Collins to two years of probation and random drug testing.
