From the State’s Attorney:
JUAN A. COLON FOUND GUILTY OF ATTEMPT FIRST DEGREE MURDER, AGGRAVATED DISCHARGE OF A FIREARM, AND UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF WEAPON BY FELON AFTER BENCH TRIAL
The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office announces that Juan A. Colon, 29, of Waukegan, Illinois, was found guilty of
- Attempt First Degree Murder,
- three counts of Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm, and
- Unlawful Possession of Weapon by Felon
after a bench trial before the Honorable Judge Mark Gerhardt.
Colon faces a minimum of 26 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on the Attempt Murder Charge, which Truth-in-Sentencing will require to be served at 85%.
Evidence at trial showed that on April 24, 2022, Colon was the passenger of a vehicle that initiated a roadway dispute with the victim by passing the victim’s vehicle and throwing a Pellegrino water bottle at his car.
After forcing the victim to a stop, Colon exited and approached the victim’s driver-side window with a loaded .25 caliber semi-automatic firearm while the victim was seated in the driver’s seat.
For their own safety, the victim sprayed pepper spray at Colon, at which point, Colon fired his gun at the victim, hitting the edge of the b-pillar of the driver-side doorframe.
The bullet was incredibly close to striking the victim directly in the head.
Colon then fired two more times at the victim before running to his vehicle and fleeing the scene with another individual.
The victim remained on scene to meet with deputies from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and provide them with his dashcam video, which captured Colon approaching the victim’s vehicle with the loaded gun in his right hand.
The gun was subsequently recovered buried behind a residence in Island Lake.
Due to Colon’s extensive criminal history out of Lake County, Illinois, the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office petitioned for him to be detained pretrial pursuant to a discretionary no-bail petition – a mechanism through which defendants could be detained pretrial, without bail, before the Safe-T Act took effect.
The petition was granted by the Honorable Judge Robert Wilbrandt on June 1, 2022.
Colon continues to remain in custody pending his sentencing scheduled for July 9, 2025.
The case was successfully prosecuted by Chief of Staff Ashley Romito and Assistant State’s Attorney Maria Marek. The State’s Attorney’s Office would like to thank Victim Witness Coordinator Polo Fabian for his assistance on this
