Target Of Murder Attempt Used iPad To Deflect Bullet At Close Range

SKOKIE, IL — The victim of a murder attempt outside of an Evanston church on Sunday afternoon managed to deflect a bullet fired at point blank range using an iPad in a bag, authorities said.

The gunman fired a second shot at the man during the Sunday afternoon confrontation in the parking lot of the Evanston Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 2128 Ashland Ave., but it did not hit anyone and the victim and his brother were able to bring the shooter to the ground and subdue him there until police arrived, according to police and prosecutors.

Alex Gorobets, 66, of Gurnee, was arrested and charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was ordered held without bond at his initial court appearance Tuesday in Skokie.

Gorobets and the man he is accused of shooting first met about four years ago while the man was working at a body shop in Waukegan. Both are immigrants from Ukraine who attended the same Evanston Jehovah's Witness church and became friends, prosecutors said.

After the victim helped Gorobets move several years ago, Gorobets began to believe that he had stolen money from him, accusing the man of taking more than $250,000 and threatening him over the phone and in person, according to Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Clara Malkin.

Malkin said the victim reported one of the threats to police in his hometown of Wheeling and Northbrook, where he worked at the time. In that incident, Gorobets allegedly showed up at his job and threatened him while the man recorded it. Police said the victim denies stealing money from Gorobets.

Gorobets showed up at the Evanston church around 4 p.m. on Sunday and initially entered the church hall, Malkin said. But when he realized the victim had not yet arrived, he left and waited in the parking lot.

When the victim arrived with his brother and a friend, they saw Gorobets standing along in the front parking lot. Gorobets walked over to the car and confronted the victim as he stepped out, the prosecutor said.

Gorobets allegedly asked if the man "was going to pay it" before taking a .40 caliber pistol out of his jacket pocket, racking it and pointing it at the victim at close range.

"The victim had a bag in his hand that contained an iPad," Malkin said, telling the judge he "held it up as protection like a shield, [and] the bullet went through the bag and into the iPad."

The bullet left the man with a split fingernail but he was otherwise uninjured, authorities said.

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Gorobets does not have a license to own or carry a gun in Illinois, according to the prosecutor, who cited his pattern of threats against the victim, the physical evidence of the shooting and the multiple eyewitnesses as she asked the judge to order him held without bail.

"The violent nature and facts and circumstances of this case establish that [Gorobets] poses a real and present threat to the victim and the community," Malkin said.

"The acts were premeditated. [Gorobets] arrived to a house of worship and waited for the victim to arrive," she continued. "[Gorobets] walked directly to the victim [and] fired the weapon two times. [He also] has a history of threatening the victim on multiple locations in the last three years."

Gorobets disputes the version of events as described by police and prosecutors, according to Assistant Public Defender Greg Kobus.

"I did not see the video," Kobus said. "But my client has indicated to me that it happened different that what the state has described, and he disagrees with the state's version of events."

Cook County Associate Judge Anthony Calabrese said prosecutors had met their burden of showing that Gorobets poses a threat to the community and, in particular, to the man he is accused of trying to kill.

"The proof appears to be evident of the defendant's guilt, based on the manner in which this offense is alleged to have happened. There are multiple eyewitnesses to the event, as well as video demonstrating what happened," Calabrese said. "The evidence suggests that the defendant appeared at the location looking for the victim while armed with a handgun."

Gorobets is due back in court Feb. 28 for the scheduled return of a grand jury indictment.

"There is ample evidence of previous threats, and/or motive for the allegations alleged against the defendant," the judge added.

"The only question I have about the circumstances of the shooting is I can't figure out how the defendant was not successful in causing serious injury to the victim."