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Guilty verdict in 2023 La Salle shooting · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Guilty Verdict in 2023 LaSalle Shooting Written by Tom Collins
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  Speaker 1: This article is being read by an automated voice brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by Everlit. The 2023 shooting at Mickey's Massive
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  Speaker 1: Burritos was not an accident. A judge ruled Wednesday. It
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  Speaker 1: was a reckless act. Richard J. Venegas, 67, of LaSalle,
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  Speaker 1: was convicted of reckless conduct dot charge of a firearm
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  Speaker 1: Wednesday in LaSalle County Circuit Court. The charge is a
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  Speaker 1: Class 4 felony carrying up to three years in prison,
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  Speaker 1: but with multiple sentencing alternatives, including probation, fines, jail, and
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  Speaker 1: or community service. Chicago Defense Attorney John Meragli declined comment
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  Speaker 1: after the verdict was read. Venegas will have an opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to address Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. at sentencing,
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  Speaker 1: which was set for 1 p.m. Friday, October 30th. Venegas
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  Speaker 1: was charged following an investigation into the March 22, 2023,
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  Speaker 1: Shooting of Michael Mickey, Venegas, at Mickey's Massive Burritos in LaSalle.
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  Speaker 1: Venegas had argued at a short bench trial that the
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  Speaker 1: shooting was an accident. Richard Venegas had brought his Smith
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  Speaker 1: & Wesson into the restaurant to show it to Mickey,
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  Speaker 1: who'd previously indicated he'd like to see it. Defense lawyers
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  Speaker 1: said Richard removed and reinserted the ammunition cartridge to ensure
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  Speaker 1: it wasn't loaded. Acts that were captured on the restaurant's
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  Speaker 1: internal surveillance camera but didn't realize there was a live
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  Speaker 1: round in the chamber. Accident does not equate to reckless.
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  Speaker 1: Miraglia had argued in a previous and unsuccessful bid for
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  Speaker 1: the judge to dismiss the charge. He, Richard, didn't know.
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  Speaker 1: He made a mistake. This is not reckless conduct rising
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  Speaker 1: to a felony. LaSalle County Prosecutor Kelly Porter argued it
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  Speaker 1: wasn't a good idea for Richard to bring a loaded
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  Speaker 1: firearm into a restaurant, let alone point it in Mickey's way.
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  Speaker 1: She argued the surveillance footage also showed Mickey nudging the
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  Speaker 1: barrel of the gun away, only for Richard to reposition
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  Speaker 1: the gun in Mickey's direction. Wednesday, the judge sided with
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  Speaker 1: the prosecution and ruled Venegas met two legal criteria for conviction. First,
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  Speaker 1: was there a great bodily harm? Ryan pointed out Mickey
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  Speaker 1: Venegas was flown to a regional medical center for an
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  Speaker 1: extended stay, a witness had testified Mickey could have died,
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  Speaker 1: and that's pretty clear bodily harm. Second, The judge ruled
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  Speaker 1: a person is guilty of reckless conduct when they commit
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  Speaker 1: a gross deviation of the standards for safety. Ryan agreed
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  Speaker 1: the handling of the firearm constituted a gross deviation. I'm
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  Speaker 1: sure he didn't intend to shoot his brother. Ryan hastened
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  Speaker 1: to add, that's not what's alleged. It's not an intentional act.