A DuPage County judge denied pretrial release for an Aurora man charged withe firing a handgun at a Juneteenth celebration in unincorporated Willowbrook this summer, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick announced Friday.
Anthony Mothershed, 19, of the 3500 block of Willowview Court, Aurora, is charged with one count of Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm — Direction of Another Person (Class 1 Felony) and one count of Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon (Class 4 Felony), according to a news release. Mothershed appeared before Judge Joshua Dieden Friday.
Around 12:24 a.m. June 18, DuPage County Sheriff’s deputies were alerted to gunshots fired at a Juneteenth celebration in a strip mall parking lot near Kingery Highway and Honeysuckle Rose Lane in unincorporated Willowbrook, the release said. When they arrived, the deputies learned that 31-year-old Reginald Meadows of Willowbrook had been shot and killed and multiple individuals had been shot.
According to the news release, that during the Juneteenth celebration, Mothershed was with a group of individuals standing outside the Legacy Beauty Supply when he allegedly began shooting a Kahr Arms CW45 .45 caliber pistol in the direction of others at the celebration. Police allege that after the shooting, Mothershed fled the scene. DuPage County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Mothershed on Oct. 4, without incident.
“The violent conduct alleged against Mr. Mothershed is outrageous and will not be tolerated in DuPage County,” Berlin said in the release. “A gathering of hundreds of people is no place for illegal guns, and my office stands ready to file the appropriate charges supported by evidence against anyone accused of behavior such as alleged in this case. The investigation into what turned a peaceful celebration into a deadly shooting continues to be extremely tedious and time-consuming, and I commend Sheriff Mendrick and the detectives involved who have invested countless hours to determine the truth about what actually happened that night.”
“I would like to commend the detectives of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office for tirelessly working on this case since its inception,” Mendrick said in the release. “These investigators have put in thousands of hours of work to reach this outcome. We will vigorously continue our investigation to hold anyone involved in this incident accountable.”
Law enforcement authorities are still investigating the shootings. Anyone with information is asked to contact the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office at (630) 407-2400.
Mothershed is scheduled for arraignment on for Oct. 23 in front of Judge Brian Telander, the release said.