COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man who crashed a college party in Lakeview pushed his way in, groped women, punched and slapped other guests — and then returned with a gun after he was kicked out, prosecutors said.
James Warren, 24, then shot a guest four times — in the thigh, knee and ankle — before getting arrested, prosecutors said.
Warren was ordered held on $800,000 bail Monday on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery by discharging a firearm. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
According to prosecutors, Warren shot the 21-year-old guest at about 1:15 a.m Sunday. The victim was still hospitalized Monday afternoon; a bullet fragment remains lodged in his knee.
It all began sometime after 11 p.m. Saturday when Warren and a friend tried to crash a party in the 2900 block of North Sheffield Avenue, Assistant State's Attorney Lorraine Scaduto said during a bond hearing.
The party was hosted by a local university student and his roommate, prosecutors said. A witness confirmed Monday that several guests attend DePaul University.
The host told Warren he wasn't welcome, Scaduto said, but Warren soon pushed his way into the Lakeview apartment as a throng of guests arrived.
Several party-goers asked Warren to leave after he became aggressive and touched several women inappropriately, prosecutors said. According to Scaduto, Warren and his guest soon agreed to leave — but not before Warren slapped and punched two guests on his way out the door.
Warren returned a short while later, prosecutors said, and began asking guests if they wanted to fight while boasting that he had a gun.
Warren left once more, authorities said, but soon entered the party for a third time through a back entrance about 1:15 a.m. Sunday. That's when Warren opened fire, Scaduto said, striking a West Ridge man four times in his thigh, ankle and knee.
Warren, of the 8300 block of South Hamilton Avenue, was arrested at the Lakeview apartment about 1:20 a.m. Sunday, court records show.
Police on the scene recovered the Ruger 9mm handgun that had been used in the shooting, prosecutors said.
According to Assistant Public Defender Megan Tomlinson, Warren graduated King College Prep and is a sophomore at Illinois State University. His enrollment status could not immediately be confirmed Monday.
Warren works part-time at a local hotel, Tomlinson said.
Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil set bail at $800,000.
