Guns, Grenades, Dead Cat Found in Barricaded Oak Lawn Man's Apartment: Cops

William Tracy, 60 | Oak Lawn Police Department

OAK LAWN, IL — A 60-year-old Marine veteran who held police at bay during a four-hour standoff is facing multiple felony charges after police found rifles, handguns, grenades and explosive powders inside his apartment and vehicle, prosecutors said in court Thursday.

• Related: Oak Lawn Man Barricades Himself After Well-Being Check: Police

William Tracy, 60, appeared before Cook County Associate Judge Peter Felice on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

Oak Lawn officers went to Tracy’s apartment the morning of July 18 in the 4100 block of West 98th Place to conduct a well-being check at his brother’s request after Tracy had reportedly killed his cat the night before.

The police learned there were weapons inside the house and that Tracy had a history of mental health issues. Tracy refused to let officers into the home, according to the charges.

The South Suburban Emergency Response team and the Cook County Sheriff’s bomb unit, as well as several other nearby police departments, arrived to assist Oak Lawn police after Tracy barricaded himself inside the unit, the prosecutor said.

Hours later, Tracy surrendered peacefully to police. The Oak Lawn man was brought to Advocate Christ Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation.

The prosecutor said that Tracy admitted to killing the mixed-breed calico cat by shooting it in the head with a 9 mm Beretta. The Cook County bomb squad also found 77 grams of black powder and shell inside Tracy’s vehicle, which was parked in the building’s parking lot.

Court records also indicated that Tracy had allegedly shot a gun into the floor of his unit, endangering the safety of neighbors living below him.

The prosecutor said the black powder found in Tracy’s car tested positive for explosive material.

“It was a firework, your honor,” Tracy said in court.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Tracy had served in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he received an honorable discharge. She said that during his service he had suffered from several concussions that left him with a personality disorder.

“He’s been getting the runaround from the veterans administration,” she said. “It’s culminated into a bad situation.”

“I’m just curious if he put the cat out of its misery because it was sick. I didn’t hear that,” Felice said.

The prosecutor said Tracy’s only other past offenses dated back to 1986 for aggravated assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

The judge ordered Tracy to be held on $100,000 bail. He also ordered that Tracy surrender all of his weapons to Oak Lawn police, which was already done, and to turn in his FOID card.“I have it in my wallet,” Tracy said.

“Then you need to turn it over to the village clerk,” Felice said.

Several of Tracy’s family members were in court. They sighed when the judge set bail.

Tracy is due back in court Aug. 16 in Bridgeview.