Shooting Victim Made Fun Of Joliet Defendant's Leather Pants: Prosecutors

JOLIET — A judge is keeping a man behind bars after prosecutors say he shot three people during a house party because one of them made fun of his leather pants. Will County Judge Derek Ewanic has decided that 34-year-old Joliet shooting defendant, Michael Gallegos, who is accused of shooting a man and two women Saturday night in the Plainfield area, will not be granted pretrial release under the Illinois SAFE-T-Act because Gallegos has a substantial criminal history.

Gallegos admitted he threw away the gun he used to shoot three people, critically wounding a 38-year-old Joliet man and injuring two women, tossing his gun into a pond behind the house where the shootings happened, near the 5300 block of Sunmeadow Drive, court files show.

Saturday night's shootings happened in the subdivision near Theodore Street and River Road.

According to the Will County prosecution's filing, Joliet police responded to the house on Sunmeadow at 11:32 p.m. for a shooting. The homeowner told officers she had family over for a party that day and while cleaning up, she heard a gunshot go off, but she did not see the altercation or the shooting.

People scattered after the gun went off, and a man collapsed near the mailbox, prosecutors said. He was taken to the hospital, and blood, along with a gun shell casing, were found in the homeowner's bedroom. The homeowner identified the shooting suspect as Gallegos, according to prosecutors.

In addition to the man who suffered life-threatening gunshot wounds to his abdomen, two other people were also shot, though their gunshot wounds are not life-threatening, officials said.

One woman who suffered a graze wound to her left leg "didn't wish to speak about the incident," the court documents show. The other female shooting victim told Joliet police that the 38-year-old man who was shot in the chest was arguing with Gallegos in the living room, and she heard a gunshot and noticed she was shot in the ankle.

She heard Gallegos announce he had a gun and then heard three or four gunshots. She told the police that the male shooting victim and Gallegos "have ongoing issues over the way the defendant treats" the victim's sister.

By 9:08 a.m. Sunday, Joliet police located Gallegos in a vehicle being driven by the niece of the homeowner. She has a child with Gallegos, and she is the sister of the 38-year-old man who was shot in the chest. "She stated eventually that (her brother) made a comment about the defendant's leather pants, and they began to argue. They then tussled with a firearm before it went off," prosecutors told the judge. "She said defendant did not intentionally shoot anyone. She refused to answer questions about whose firearm it was. She denied knowing the defendant's last name, despite them sharing a child with that last name."

As for Gallegos, he spoke with Joliet detectives following the traffic stop. He told them he had a black 9 mm Glock handgun that he brought to the party and the gun discharged two or three times as he struggled for control of it, court records note.

"He threw it in the pond near the rear of the house. He stated (the victim) made disparaging comments to him regarding his leather pants," the pretrial petition pointed out. "In response, he told (the homeowner's niece) it was time to leave, but her family didn't want her to leave. (The victim) asked him to meet him in the garage. Then two other family members followed ... They started swinging and tussling with him. He reached for his gun, a black 9mm Glock he carries with him and had on his waistband, even though he is not allowed to carry one legally."

Prosecutors noted that Gallegos has a 2016 aggravated robbery conviction from Will County and "a substantial criminal history" including obstructing a peace officer in 2024 in Will County, aggravated battery from 2021 in Will County, domestic battery from 2021 in Will County, theft in DeKalb County in 2021, unlawful possession of weapons from DeKalb County from 2021, retail theft in Will County from 2010 and a forcible felony as a juvenile in Will County from 2007.