A 28-year-old Elgin man recently pleaded not guilty to the November fatal shooting of a man outside a home on Morgan Avenue, court records show.
Alberto Sepeda denied murder, home invasion and kidnapping charges during a Jan. 19 hearing before Judge John Barsanti. Sepeda is held on $5 million bail with a hearing scheduled for March 10.
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Prosecutors allege Sepeda shot 59-year-old Norbert Gutierrez as they scuffled in front of Gutierrez’s home during the early morning hours of Nov. 13. The altercation started, according to authorities, when Sepeda showed up and demanded to take the woman he was dating and the couple’s young child from the home. Gutierrez got involved when he heard Sepeda refuse to leave during an argument with a second female, court document state.
Sepeda and Gutierrez struggled in the front doorway and then wrestled on the ground after falling down the front steps. At one point, Sepeda pulled out a gun and shot Gutierrez twice — an act witnessed by a juvenile at the home, according to a search warrant affidavit for Sepeda’s Ford Focus.
After the shots were fired, the female locked the front door, but Sepeda forced his way in and held her at gunpoint in order to get to the basement where his girlfriend and child were located, the affidavit states. He then held the gun to his girlfriend’s head while pushing her and the one-year-old child out of the home and into the Focus. Elgin police pursued the car for several blocks as Sepeda drove over curbs and off the road in an attempt to escape before pulling over. Officers found the woman and child in the car, as well as a handgun on the passenger side floorboard, the affidavit explained.
Sepeda’s attorney has indicated in court records that his client could argue self-defense in the case.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.