Elmhurst Attempted Murder Suspect Still Awaits Trial

ELMHURST, IL – Nearly six years later, a man accused of attempting to kill another man in an Elmhurst neighborhood has yet to go on trial.

Alec Gonzales was 22 when he was arrested in June 2020 on a charge of attempted first-degree murder. At the time, he had addresses in Elmhurst and Mesa, Arizona, police said.

On Friday, Paul Darrah, a spokesman for the DuPage County state's attorney's office, said Gonzales has gone through three lawyers, causing delays.

"We're ready to go," Darrah said in an interview.

Since his arrest, Gonzales has been in the DuPage County Jail. No trial date has been set.

According to a complaint filed in DuPage County, Gonzales shot a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle eight times at the victim in the Butterfield Park neighborhood, hitting his side and grazing his scalp.

The shooting happened shortly before 9 p.m. May 14, 2020, in the 800 block of South Linden Avenue. When local officers arrived, they found a 54-year-old man who was the victim of a gunshot wound, Elmhurst police said at the time.

Witnesses reported that a new model, light-colored SUV heading west in the 300 block of Van Buren Street slowed and someone from inside fired several shots at the victim, who was walking on the sidewalk, police said. The victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was treated for gunshot wounds.

Gonzales had an address in the 600 block of South Berkley Avenue in Elmhurst, police said.