A fourth suspect in an Orland Park home invasion case from 2013 appeared in Bridgeview bond court Tuesday on an attempted first-degree murder charge, officials said.
Bail was set at $500,000 for Jeremy Watson, 30, of Gary, who is charged in connection of the shooting of a then 30-year-old man in his bedroom, Cook County prosecutors said.
Watson was arrested by Orland Park police on Monday.
Prosecutors said masked and armed men entered a couple’s home, shot the man three times during a struggle and made off with about $8,000. The victim’s wife, who also was in the bedroom during the incident, was forced to hand over her diamond watch and ring, prosecutors said.
Four people were identified by authorities as participating in the home invasion, police said.
A second defendant in the home invasion, Warren Hunter, 35, pleaded guilty in February and is currently serving 10-year sentence for aggravated robbery, according to court records. He was arrested in January 2014 by Orland Park police after being held in Indiana, police said.
Hunter originally faced multiple charges that included attempted first degree murder, according to court records.
More Top Picks Dehumidifiers
A third alleged perpetrator, 27-year-old Anthony Espinoza of Indiana, killed himself the same day as the home invasion, police said. Another suspect, Brad Kemp, also of Indiana, also killed himself after he was charged in 2014 with attempted first degree murder, police said.
“We’ve got a fourth and final suspect in custody,” said Cmdr. Tony Farrell of the Orland Park Police Department.
The robbery and shooting happened just before 3 a.m. on May 10, 2013, authorities said.
A shooting victim was home with his then-fiancee, now his wife, two children and a nanny when two men entered their home in the 10900 block of Antelope Lane through a garage side door, authorities said.
The man suffered gunshots to his arm, shoulder and leg, none of which were life threatening, authorities said.
After the shooting, the shooting victim followed the burglars as they fled in a car, authorities said.
During the chase, the burglars fired shots at the victim in the area of 179th Street and Wolf Road, authorities said.
The victim eventually lost track of the burglars’ vehicle on Interstate 80, authorities said. He then flagged down a police officer who was responding to the incident near LaGrange Road.
On Tuesday, Defense attorney David Will said Watson, who works for a towing company, was not identified by any of the complaining witnesses.
Will said Hunter pleaded to a lesser charge in a deal with the state’s attorney’s office.
“Owing to the weakness of the state’s case,” Will said Tuesday he was requesting the judge set bail at no more than $100,000 for his client.
Watson returns to court March 21.
Nick Swedberg is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.