A Lake County judge is expected to rule Friday on a bail reduction request that could allow a Barrington man accused of killing his wife out of jail for in-patient treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder at the Veterans Affairs hospital in North Chicago.
Defense attorney Robert Hauser has filed a motion to reduce bail for Larry Lotz, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran. The motion would reduce bail from $3 million to $500,000, which would require a $50,000 cash bond.
Lotz, who has been in jail since his Feb. 11 arrest, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife, Karen Lotz, which prosecutors said followed an argument about a coffee maker that had been left on.
Hauser said Lotz is receiving psychological treatment, and family members have learned he would be eligible for a bed at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, which has a treatment unit for PTSD.
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Judge Danial Shanes asked for a report on Lotz from the court’s pretrial services division prior to Friday’s hearing. The state has not yet indicated whether it will object to the proposed bond reduction.
Hauser said Lotz had no criminal record prior to the shooting and that any security concerns could potentially be handled through electronic monitoring.
Lotz was arrested Jan. 15 after he called 911 and told dispatchers he had shot his wife, according to authorities. Responding officers found that Karen Lotz, a longtime Harper College employee, had been fatally shot.
Prosecutors said Lotz shot his wife after she followed him into a home office after an argument about a coffee maker he left on in the kitchen of the home.
After police arrived, Larry Lotz told them where to find the gun he allegedly used, which was recovered from the scene, officials said.
Lotz gave a videotaped statement in which he admitted shooting his wife, prosecutors said.
Authorities said Lotz struck his wife three times, including in the head. She died later at a local hospital.
Larry Lotz is a Vietnam War-era Army veteran who worked in information technology for various employers before retiring, his son told reporters after the shooting.
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