'Friendly Fire' Hits 19-Year-Old, 3 Arrested: Waukegan Police

WAUKEGAN, IL — Three Lake County men face felony firearm charges after accidentally shooting their companion when they opened fire on another car last week in Waukegan, police said. Two of the men were taken into custody Friday in Wisconsin after fleeing police, according to Racine County prosecutors.

Several people called 911 around 8 p.m. on Feb. 24 to report hearing repeated gunfire around Jackson Street and Grove Avenue, according to Waukegan police. Officers found more than 20 spent shell casings at the scene, including 9mm, .40 and .22 calibers.

Police soon learned a 19-year-old Waukegan man had just been brought to a nearby emergency room in serious condition. He had been shot in the arm and the chest, according to Cmdr. Joe Florip. His condition improved, and he has since been released from the hospital. Florip said he is not yet facing any charges in connection with the shooting.

Investigators from the Waukegan Police Department's gang intelligence unit believe the man who was shot was struck by "friendly fire" after three people with him in a black Toyota Corolla began shooting at another car, police said. The car they were targeting was occupied by a Waukegan man who all four people in the Corolla knew, and detectives believe the shooting had "gang undertones," according to Florip.

Diego Sanchez, 18, of Wauconda, was taken into custody when he arrived at the hospital with the man who had been shot. He was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm and two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. A judge ordered him held at Lake County Jail in lieu of the $50,000 cash portion of his bond ahead of his next court appearance Tuesday.

Warrants were issued for the arrests of two other men within days of the shooting. According to authorities in Wisconsin, they were taken into custody Friday evening after fleeing local and state police.

Zachery Zavala, 21, of the 1000 block of William Street, Racine, was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to police and prosecutors.

Marc Sanchez, 20, of the 1400 block of Carmel Boulevard, Zion, was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm. Waukegan police said Sanchez, who is not related to Diego Sanchez, was already wanted on a warrant with a $1 million bond in connection with an aggravated battery with a firearm charge connected to a March 2019 incident where he's accused of shooting a relative in the leg during an argument.

Racine County court records show both men face additional criminal charges. According to a criminal complaint in support of two felony charges of attempting to flee or elude an officer, Racine police reported that they were familiar with Zavala from executing search warrants at his house in November 2019. Officers reported finding him leaving his house in an SUV around 4:30 p.m Friday, following it to a fast food drive-thru and trying to pull him over.

The SUV sped away, but a trooper with the Wisconsin State Patrol heard the pursuit over the radio and found it in the Milwaukee County city of Oak Creek. The SUV continued to flee, driving against traffic and recklessly trying to pass other cars, according to the complaint.

A trooper who used a spike strip to deflate the fleeing SUV's tires reported Sanchez nearly struck him to avoid the device. The vehicle lost a back tire and continued on its rim, according to the trooper, who said he noticed things being thrown out of the fleeing vehicle.

The pursuit ended when the trooper caused the SUV to spin out toward a ditch at Highway K and West Overson Road, according to the complaint. It flipped over and landed on its roof.

According to the complaint, one of the passengers identified himself as Zavala. The other passenger told the state trooper she had tried to pull over at at the Racine fast food drive-thru, but Sanchez told her to get in the back and took control of the wheel, refusing to stop after losing the tire. She explained Sanchez had thrown her cellphone out of the window as they fled because he thought police could track them, the trooper said.

As of Monday, Zavala and Sanchez were being held at the Racine County Jail awaiting an extradition hearing.

Police are still looking for the black Toyota Corolla involved in the shooting, according to Florip. It has an Illinois license plate with the number 9625036.