Aurora man charged after dispute leads to fatal shooting outside bar in Chicago suburb
WHEATON, Ill. (CBS) -- A man was charged with the shooting death of a father of two with a child on the way during a fight outside a west suburban bar Friday morning.
Michael Freund, 49, of Aurora appeared in court on Saturday where he was charged with one count of first-degree murder and denied pre-trial release.
The shooting happened at Rosie O'Reilly's Irish Pub & Grub, located at 0-N-131 Gary Ave. in unincorporated Wheaton. The victim, identified as Dexter Perkins by the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office, was a regular customer at Rosie O'Reilly's. He was pronounced dead on the scene after being struck in the torso and face, prosecutors said.
As CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reported, the fight all started with a quarrel over pizza and a bar tab.
"These three guys had pizza, and they had some leftovers," said bar owner John Dwyer. "So they must have been saying to the bar, 'If anybody wants some leftovers,' and somehow, they got into a questionable argument."
The quarrel then spilled outside.
In the cellphone video that Le Mignot screened, the victim and three other men are seen outside the bar. The victim and one of the men appear to bear-hug each other and dance around, going back and forth on the front walkway.
"One minute they're hugging, the next minute they're arguing," said John Dwyer.
Another man pulls out a gun and fires two shots into the air. Right after that, pub owner John Dwyer says the victim was shot in the head by one of the three patrons on the handicapped ramp.
Prosecutors say Freund placed the Glock, which had been fired a total of 11 times, in the center console of his truck where it was found by police. He was taken into custody from the bar without incident.
John's wife and pub general manager Theresa Dwyer, said the regular customer who was gunned down had been coming to Rosie O'Reilly's for about two years.
"Just a nice guy. He'd come in, he'd visit with people. Sometimes there was a little teasing back and forth and stuff, but life is life. It doesn't matter what you are," said Theresa Dwyer. "You know, children… very sad."
She said the victim had two children and a third on the way.
"He talked about his family. Very proud," Theresa Dwyer said. "Happy to have the children and the one on the way."
Following the shooting, Wheaton North High School was placed on a soft lockdown as a precaution, according to city officials.
Police say the three men involved, including Freund, were in custody late Friday. The owners say those three men had never been in the bar before.
"The kids, and life – I don't care what's going on. Life is life," said Theresa Dwyer as she wiped away tears, "and right around the holidays."
Freund is scheduled to appear back in court on Jan. 18 for arraignment.
