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Verdict coming next month in 2023 La Salle shooting · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Verdict coming next month. In twenty twenty three LaSalle shooting
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  Speaker 1: written by Tom Collins. This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by everlett A. Lasal
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  Speaker 1: Man finds out late next month whether the twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: three shooting at Mickey's Massive Burritos was an accident or
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  Speaker 1: a felony reckless act. Richard J. Venegus, sixty seven, stood
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  Speaker 1: Friday for a bench trial in LaSalle County Circuit Court,
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  Speaker 1: where he's charged with reckless conduct, a Class four felony
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  Speaker 1: carrying up to three years in prison. He was charged
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  Speaker 1: following an investigation into the March twenty second, twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: three shooting of Michael Mickey Venigus at Mickey's Massive Burritos
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  Speaker 1: in Lasal. Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Junior will hear
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  Speaker 1: closing arguments and then deliver a verdict at one thirty
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  Speaker 1: pm Thursday, August twenty seventh. Friday, defense lawyers argued the
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  Speaker 1: shooting was an accident. Richard Venegas had brought his smith
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  Speaker 1: and 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 lawyer
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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: Defense attorney John Moraglia argued, in an unsuccessful bid to
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  Speaker 1: dismiss the charge, he Richard didn't know he made a mistake.
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  Speaker 1: This is not reckless conduct, rising to a felony. LaSalle
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  Speaker 1: County Prosecutor Kelly Porter argued it wasn't a good idea
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  Speaker 1: for Richard to bring a loaded firearm into a restaurant,
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  Speaker 1: less again to point at Mickey's way. Porter argued, surveillance
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  Speaker 1: footage also shows Mickey nudging the barrel of the gun away,
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  Speaker 1: only for Richard to reposition the gun in Mickey's direction.
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  Speaker 1: Mickey took the stand and said he okey his brother
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  Speaker 1: showing him the gun provided it wasn't loaded. However, he
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  Speaker 1: said his attention was diverted by a catering order soon
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  Speaker 1: headed out the door. I wasn't paying attention to Richard
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  Speaker 1: or the gun, Micky said. The shot entered Mickey's leg
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  Speaker 1: and struck an artery. How critical was the injury? Mickey
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  Speaker 1: testified he was unconscious eight of the twenty one days
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  Speaker 1: he spent in the hospital and couldn't definitively say whether
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  Speaker 1: he was close to death. A paramedic summoned to the
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  Speaker 1: scene testified he didn't think Mickey would survive. Bradley Anderson,
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  Speaker 1: also a sergeant with Peru Police, treated Mickey and termed
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  Speaker 1: the injury an arterial wound and a dire situation. I
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  Speaker 1: did not think he was going to survive for much longer,
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  Speaker 1: Anderson testified. Under cross examination. He added later, I've never
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  Speaker 1: seen that much blood outside a body that was still alive.
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  Speaker 1: The state rested Friday. Richard Venegus declined to testify, and
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  Speaker 1: the defense rested after calling no witnesses.