An Oct. 20 sentencing date has been scheduled for a Waukegan man charged with shooting a bouncer in a Fox Lake bar last February.
Keith Lee, 22, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated battery with a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon before Judge Victoria Rossetti late last month under a negotiated deal that will cap his potential prison sentence at 17 years.
In exchange, in addition to the sentencing cap, the state dropped additional charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm and possession with a firearm with a defaced serial number. If convicted at trial of the most serious charge, aggravated battery with a firearm, Lee could have faced a sentence of up to 30 years, officials said.
According to Fox Lake Police and prosecutors, the shooting was the culmination of “a large fight” in Pug Mahones Bar at 2:45 a.m. Feb. 28.
The 27-year-old bouncer who was shot was transported to Condell Medical Center, where he was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the right shoulder.
Police said the incident began as a major fight at the bar, and when bouncers attempted to break it up, shots were fired, but only the one bouncer was struck.
Suspects in the fight and shooting fled the area in a 2005 black Ford Taurus, police said, and were “followed by a quick-thinking patron who kept police informed on their direction of travel.” The suspects were stopped by Fox Lake officers on Rollins Road and Lee was taken into custody without incident, along with two other suspects in the car. A .38 caliber revolver was located within the vehicle and taken as evidence in this case, according to police.
During the brawl, police said a patron was injured when he was pushed down a flight of stairs on the back deck of the bar and his face struck the back of a pick-up truck. He was treated for injuries at Centegra Hospital McHenry.
Fox Lake Police were assisted during the incident by the Antioch, Lake Villa and Lakemoor police departments and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Lee has remained in Lake County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bond since his arrest.
Twitter @jimnewton5