LOST NATION — The suspect in a June 12 shooting in Lost Nation that resulted in three Ogle County Emergency Response Team members being shot has been taken into custody and charged with four counts of attempted first degree murder, a Tuesday press release from Ogle County State’s Attorney Mike Rock said.
Jonathon Gounaris, 32, was also charged Tuesday with three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, three counts of aggravated battery and two counts of possession of a firearm without a Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card.
On June 12, members of the Ogle County ERT responded to a home in Lost Nation after a report of someone threatening to commit suicide. When police entered the home, three members of law enforcement were shot as well as the defendant. The Illinois State Police conducted an investigation which was reviewed by the Ogle County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Two law enforcement officers were transported by ground from the scene to KSB Hospital in Dixon and were treated and released. The third was flown to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford and went into surgery and was released Friday. Gounaris was in surgery at KSB on June 12 and Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle recently said he would not be arrested until he was released from hospital.
The Ogle County Emergency Response Team is made up of individuals from different agencies including the Ogle County Sheriff's Office, the Oregon Police Department and the Byron Police Department as well as SWAT medics from the Rochelle Fire Department.
The incident took place at 402 Wild Rice Lane in Lost Nation. The Ogle County ERT was activated at 9:18 a.m. and a hostage negotiator arrived on scene and attempted to make contact with the individual.
“The information we got from the family member was that this was very likely going to be suicide by cop-like situation,” VanVickle said June 12. “There was nobody else in the residence. The family member that called was not at the residence. The suspect was in the residence by himself and we had that confirmed by the family member. We believed his intention was to harm police officers. That's the information the family member told us.”
The first call to Gounaris’ cell phone by the hostage negotiator was made at 10:40 a.m. and VanVickle said over 50 phone calls were made in various forms to the residence. All of them went unanswered, he said. Additional resources were provided into the home at 11:09 a.m. in an attempt to make contact with Gounaris with no success. ERT members entered the home shortly afterwards and received gunfire from inside the house before returning fire, incapacitating Gounaris, an Ogle County Sheriff’s Office press release said.
VanVickle said Gounaris was armed with two handguns, a fixed-blade knife, pepper spray and ballistic armor.
Attempted first degree murder is a class X felony that is punishable by a special sentence of 20-80 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by three years of mandatory supervised release.
Aggravated discharge of a firearm is a class X felony that is punishable by a special sentence of 10-45 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by three years of mandatory supervised release.
Aggravated battery is a class X felony that is punishable by a special sentence of 15-60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by three years of mandatory supervised release.
Possession of a firearm without a FOID Card is a class three felony punishable by a sentence of 2-5 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by six months of mandatory supervised release.
The press release said Gounaris has been taken into custody on a no bond warrant and he is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, June 20 in the Ogle County Judicial Center. The charges are merely allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.
