WEST RIDGE — A man who said he had a loaded gun pulled on him during a harrowing West Ridge traffic altercation says he's stunned the alleged gunman only got nailed with a misdemeanor charge.
The March 19 incident played out throughout a chunk of the North Side, with the alleged gunman chasing the victim before pointing a gun on him, police said.
It ended when the victim — Martin Koril, 26 — called police and then followed the man for miles, even though the 911 dispatcher told him to knock if off, Koril said.
When police finally caught up with the alleged gunman, Johnny Butcher, 26, of West Ridge, Koril said he yelled at him "You ain't tough now, sucker!"
Koril said the case isn't over — he's going to Butcher's misdemeanor hearing in hopes of getting the case bumped up to a felony. Cook County prosecutors passed on felony charges after the arrest, according to police.
“That’s crazy. I don’t understand that part,” Koril said. “One of the officers called me back the next day and said the guy only got a misdemeanor. But he’ll see me in court. I hope when I tell the judge what happened it gets bumped up to a felony.”
Butcher is charged with misdemeanor aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors didn't return calls about the case.
Officers from the Chicago and Lincolnwood police departments caught up with Butcher around 8:30 p.m. March 19 in the 7200 block of North McCormick Boulevard after getting a 911 call from Koril, they said.
Butcher, who has a concealed-carry license and firearm owners ID card, had an unregistered .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun that officers found inside his van after stopping him, they said.
The gun, which Koril described during his 911 call, was loaded with 11 bullets, including one in the chamber ready to fire, according to police.
Koril estimated he followed Butcher for about 10 minutes after he said the gun was drawn on him in traffic.
“I called the 911 operator; she told me not to give chase,” Kuril recalled. “I said, 'No way in hell, this is my neighborhood, you’re not getting away with flashing a gun up here.' She was saying you’re not allowed to chase him, especially if he has a gun. I said, 'Listen man, you had somebody pull a gun, you’d follow them,' and I just gave chase. He thought he got away from me; he didn’t get away from me.”
The incident began when Koril admittedly, though he says accidentally, cut off Butcher in traffic on Peterson Avenue. Butcher retaliated by aggressively tailgating Koril and accelerating from behind as if he was going to ram Koril’s car, Koril said. Then Butcher began tailgating Koril so closely that Koril said he couldn't see the front bumper of Butcher’s Ford Club Wagon.
Koril said he was planning to drive away from the encounter, moving into the left-turn-only lane on Kimball Avenue from Peterson. Butcher also seemed done, moving to the right-turn-only lane, Koril said, but when Koril looked over across two lanes he said he saw the gun pointed “dead” at him through the window.
“I just looked over and seen the gun, the black hole of the gun, and just thought, 'Oh man, this guy’s pointing a gun at me,'” Koril said.
Koril turned left at the light but made a quick U-turn, headed back north on Kimball and followed Butcher from a distance while calling police. He said he followed Butcher northwest onto Lincoln Avenue, turned right onto Devon Avenue, made another left on North Trumbull all the way to West Pratt Avenue. Butcher eventually turned onto McCormick Boulevard headed toward West Touhy Avenue where he was stopped by several police vehicles, according to both Koril and the police report.
Koril said he has lived in the neighborhood all of his life and felt comfortable following at a distance, always knowing where he was. When police made the stop, Koril got out of his vehicle and started yelling.
“I was just very nervous at the time,” Koril said. “When someone pulls a gun on you, you get that adrenaline rush in you. I got out of the car and cursed him a few times, must have called him a b----, ‘You ain’t tough now, sucker.’ I was just very shocked that he pulled a gun on me. He doesn’t look like the type of individual who would do such a thing.”
Butcher’s scheduled to appear in court May 4 at 2452 W. Belmont Ave. in the misdemeanor branch of Cook County Circuit Court. Koril said he will be there to testify against him. Attempts to reach Butcher were unsuccessful.
“He’s gonna see me in court,” said Koril. “Oh yeah, I’m going for this guy. I was thinking if I went to court and explained the story and what’s going on, I hope they up the misdemeanor for a felony. Whatever happens, I hope he gets the maximum sentence.”
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