Reckless Gunshots On 4th Of July: Here's What Police Say Braidwood Felon Was Shooting At

BRAIDWOOD, IL — A member of the Braidwood community, 51-year-old Ronald Tvrz, is now occupying one of Will County's jail cells after Braidwood police apprehended him over the weekend in connection with a shooting incident in the direction of passing motorists along Interstate 55.

The Will County State's Attorney's Office filed seven charges against Tvrz: aggravated discharge of a gun, three counts of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, having a defaced serial number and two counts of reckless discharge of a gun.

Jail logs indicate Tvrz was booked into the county jail around 8 p.m. on July 5, and he's remained there ever since. Will County Judge Derek Ewanic ruled that Tvrz met the dangerous standard and the willful flight to avoid prosecution risk in making his decision to keep the Braidwood citizen detained under the Illinois SAFE-T-Act.

According to the prosecution, Braidwood police learned from a woman who went to the July 4th party at Tvrz's house on Division Street that Tvrz and a man named Steven Marshall were shooting BB guns. During the party, police say Tvrz later pulled out a 9-millimeter handgun and fired the gun into the air only 8 inches from her head. The woman's ears were ringing as a result of the gun discharge.

Eventually, Tvrz began to shoot his gun into the ground, and finally he gave Marshall a bulletproof vest and walked Marshall to the back of his property, the court files show. Tvrz began to shoot toward Marshall and in the direction of Interstate 55 from the background, the complaint noted.

The woman told Braidwood police that she knew Tvrz to have a gun and that he and Marshall talked "about doing this on previous dates. She made her observations through a window inside the residence." Another man at the party told police that Tvrz shot Marshall with a 9-millimeter handgun. Both people informed the police that Tvrz's girlfriend was also there, the court documents show.

According to prosecutors, on July 5, Braidwood police conducted a raid upon the Tvrz home, and he provided them with the password for his safe. A 9-millimeter gun with scratched off numbers as well as a .22-caliber handgun with a 10-round loaded magazine were recovered by the police. Police also confiscated Tvrz's Social Security card, and a bulletproof vest with impact points that was found in the closet.

"The defendant admitted the guns are his, stating he bought it in Missouri for $300 three years ago. He said the .22 caliber handgun was given to him by his cousin. He also acknowledged being a felon and cannot have firearms. He denied shooting the firearms and claimed he only shot BB guns," the prosecutors informed Judge Ewanic.

Tvrz is a convicted felon, having a 1991 Will County robbery conviction. He also does not have a valid FOID card, the prosecutors pointed out.