70-year-old's alleged shooting of Chicago area neighbor was racially motivated, prosecutors say
JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) — The man accused of shooting his neighbor in the southwest suburbs has been charged with a hate crime.
John Shadbar, 70, appeared before a Will County judge on May 9 and was denied release. The Will County State's Attorney's Office outlined what they said was a clear history of problems between him and Melissa Robertson, a white woman who has two Black sons. Prosecutors said Shadbar would regularly antagonize them with racial slurs.
Shadbar faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm without a valid FOID card, and a hate crime, as prosecutors said the shooting was racially motivated.
The shooting happened outside of the home where Robertson lives with her two sons, a 21-year-old and an 8-year-old, in unincorporated Lockport Township.
Prosecutors said Shadbar opened fire on Robertson five times, striking her at least twice as the result of a heated exchange between the two. Her family provided photos of her at Silver Cross Hospital, where she was in critical condition as of Thursday.
Her family said Shadbar would regularly harass the Robertsons and target the two boys with racial slurs.
Mikeal Johnson, Robertson's stepson, said Shadbar "would call us the n-word and show us his gun."
"She'd be telling me, like, 'Something is gonna happen,' because the cops won't do anything," said Johnson. "'They can't do anything,' she would say. 'This is bound to happen.'"
On the day of the shooting, Shadbar was quoted by prosecutors saying, "There's gonna be dead [expletives] today," allegedly using an anti-Black slur.
Furthermore, the family said for years, Shadbar has sat on his lawn and would fire off what he said were blanks from a rifle, terrorizing the neighborhood. Multiple calls were made to police and despite those red flags, the family said nothing was done.
"Nothing was ever done, and I don't care if he was shooting blanks. If he's in his front yard waving a gun and doesn't have a FOID card, I mean, I have a FOID card. I can't go stand in my front yard and wave my gun around without some consequences," said Jeanne Beyer, Robertson's aunt. "Why did he have no consequences?"
Following a search of Shadbar's home, police recovered several firearms, including two rifles and a shotgun, as well as hundreds of rounds of ammunition. His wife, who is a sergeant with the Cook County Sheriff's Department of Corrections, told authorities she was unaware that he had the guns.
In a statement, a Cook County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said, "An individual named Wendy Shabar [sic] is employed as a Correctional Sergeant at the Cook County Jail. Per protocol, an internal investigation was opened on Wednesday, and Shadbar has been de-deputized pending the outcome of that investigation."
John Shadbar is expected to be back in court on Thursday.