Gunman Accused of Killing Mundelein Nurse in U of I Shooting Surrenders

An 18-year-old Champaign man accused of opening fire near the University of Illinois campus last weekend in an incident that injured several passersby and killed a Mundelein man has turned himself into police.

An arrest warrant for Robbie M. Patton was issued on Tuesday for his alleged role in the shooting that killed George Korchev, 22, of Mundelein. The shooting took place in the 300 block of East Green Street during the early morning hours of Sept. 25.

At 10:15 p.m. on Thursday, Patton turned himself into the Champaign County Jail, Champaign police said Friday. He is being held on a $5 million bond and is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm.

“Champaign Police detectives have continued to investigate this incident, processing various information and evidence,” according to a press release issued late Thursday by the Champaign Police Department. “As a result, detectives developed information leading to the identity of Patton who is believed to be responsible for the shooting.”

An argument, which may have started over a spilled drink at a large party inside an apartment near the University of Illinois campus early Sunday, moved out into a parking lot and led to shots being fired, according to the Chicago Tribune.

George Korchev, 22, of Mundelein, died at a hospital in Champaign shortly after the shooting. His boyhood friend, University of Illinois graduate student Erik Lasaine, 22, of Round Lake, was also shot, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lasaine and two other shooting victims have since been released from the hospital.

The incident early Sunday started with an argument and altercation inside an apartment in the 300 block of East Green Street, said Champaign Police Lt. Dave Shaffer during Wednesday’s press conference.

That argument moved outside to a parking lot on the west side of the apartment.

“A fight, that initially started among a group of females, branched off into smaller altercations throughout the parking lot. One individual who entered the parking lot was attacked by a group of individuals and was beaten into unconsciousness out in the parking lot,” Shaffer said. “This attack is believed to be a precursor to the shooting that occurred”

The gunman fired several shots, which hit four people, including Korchev and Lasaine. Lasaine was hit in the back by a bullet but has since been released from the hospital. He was in attendance at a U of I vigil Tuesday night at the campus and headed back to Lake County Wednesday for Korchev's funeral, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Korchev was visiting the U. of I. campus when the shooting occurred. It was a celebratory visit; Korchev, who graduated from the College of Lake County and recently passed his Nursing Board Exam, was supposed to start this past Monday as a full-time nurse at Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

>>> Mundelein Man Killed in U of I Shooting Was Supposed to Start Nursing Job This Week

Korchev, Lasaine and other friends had just left a party and were in search of a place to eat when the gunshots were fired, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lasaine fled to a nearby residence when he realized he had been shot in the back.

A 22-year-old Champaign man and a 20-year-old Champaign man, also both innocent bystanders, were hit by gunshots near the Green Street parking lot. Both men have since been released from the hospital.

During the shooting, a 19-year-old Round Lake woman was hit by a car while fleeing the scene. She also has been discharged from the hospital.

Just 30 minutes after the shooting on Green Street, police received another report of gunfire in the 700 block of south State Street in Champaign. There, officers found another shooting victim, a 25-year-old Urbana woman. She was taken to an area hospital and has since been released.

“Due to the proximity and timing of the State Street shooting, we could not rule out the possibility that the two shootings may be related,” according to a summary of the Champaign Police Department’s investigation, which was released Wednesday. “However, as the Green Street investigation has progressed, we have found no credible information at this time to confirm the incidents are related.”

• The full investigation summary can be found here

Authorities were still working to determine a motive for the Green Street shooting but do believe the fights that broke out in the parking lot led to the shots being fired, Shaffer said.

Patton has a history of violent behavior. He was released from a boot camp program just two weeks prior to the U. of I. shooting. He was sentenced to boot camp after pleading guilty to a December 2015 shooting at a Steak 'n Shake in Champaign, District Attorney Julia Rietz said at a Wednesday press conference.

Surveillance Video Released

Authorities on Wednesday also released a surveillance video, which shows the parking lot where the fights started. It’s estimated at least 100 people were in the parking lot at the time. Police are looking to talk to anyone who was present as they work to track down others involved in the fights leading up to the shooting.

The 56-second video can be viewed below or on the Champaign Police Department's website.

Anyone who was at the party or who may have witnessed any of the shootings is urged to contact the Champaign Police Investigations Division at police@champaignil.gov or by phone at 217-351-4545.