Suspect Charged In Oak Lawn Road Rage Shooting

OAK LAWN, IL — A man believed to be the shooter in a road rage incident last week in Oak Lawn was picked up Sunday on an arrest warrant by police at O’Hare International Airport, prosecutors said. Mario Mallard, 36, of South Holland, appeared Monday before Cook County Judge Donald Havis on a felony charge of aggravated battery with a firearm.

Around 6 p.m. May 10, a driver noticed a white SUV driving recklessly southbound down Cicero Avenue. Believing that the white SUV had clipped his own vehicle, the driver pulled into a parking lot at 107th Street and Cicero. The driver of the SUV, later identified as Mallard, also pulled into the parking lot, the prosecutor said.

Mallard also pulled into the parking lot, the prosecutor said, when the driver, a man in his 40s, got out of his vehicle and approached Mallard, thinking the two were going to exchange insurance information.

The driver noticed that Mallard’s driver’s side window was down when he approached the SUV. The prosecutor said the driver heard gunshots when he noticed his upper arm bleeding profusely.

Mallard is alleged to have fled the parking lot, heading south on Cicero. Oak Lawn police officers heard the shots and immediately went to the scene, where they found the wounded driver.

An undercover Oak Lawn police officer, along with Alsip police, attempted to pull Mallard over, the prosecutor said. A police chase ensued, with Oak Lawn and Alsip police in pursuit of the fleeing SUV. Mallard got on to I-294 at Cicero Avenue and 127th Street, where police said he was clocked driving at speeds in excess of 100mph.

The injured driver, a man in his 40s was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was immediately taken into surgery for his wounds. The victim is currently recovering from surgery and hospital officials said the officers’ quick response likely saved his life.

Police learned that Mallard just had his SUV services at Webb Chevrolet, where the car dealer’s security video showed him paying the cashier moments before the alleged shooting, the prosecutor said.

Three witnesses familiar with Mallard identified him from Webb Chevrolet’s security video, the prosecutor said. An arrest warrant was issued and on Sunday evening, the prosecutor said Mallard was arrested getting off a plane from the Dominican Republic at O’Hare International Airport, where he had apparently fled to the day after the shooting.

Mallard has two prior felony convictions, one for robbery in 2003 where he was sentenced to probation, and another for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in 2011, for which he received three years in prison.

Mallard’s attorney told the judge that what the prosecutor read in court was different from the investigative report. He said there was no mention of any allegations of an accident by the injured driver believing his client had clipped his car.

“This was a road rage incident where the victim tried to pull the defendant out of his car,” Mallard’s attorney said. “The victim aggressively approached the defendant’s car, at which time they heard gunshots. That is in the investigative report by the assistant state’s attorney.”

The attorney said three witnesses watched the incident unfold.

“The victim cut off the defendant,” Mallard’s attorney said. “He pulled into a lot to get away from him, when the victim got of his car and approached my client where he made and aggressive motion and there were gunshots.”

Mallard’s attorney said his client worked as a collision specialist on vehicles damaged in car accidents. Mallard is the father of four children.

“He works, and he takes care of his four children,” his attorney said, asking for electronic monitoring that would allow him to work.

The judge set bail at $250,000. Mallard is due back in court June 7 in Bridgeview.

"This is the kind of result we've come to expect from the Oak Lawn Police Department," Oak Lawn Trustee Bud Stalker said, whose 5th district borders the intersection. "When you support your police and let them do their jobs, good things will happen."