Interstate 90 and Illinois Route 72. (CREDIT: Google Maps)

A Gilberts man faces criminal charges for firing more than a dozen shots from an AK-47 rifle in the direction of the Jane Addams Tollway after he heard laughter outside of his home early in the morning.

Steven Mendoza

Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon has charged 24-year-old Steven Mendoza with the offense of reckless discharge of a firearm, a Class 4 felony.

Kane County prosecutors allege in charging documents that on Sunday (July 28, 2019), Mendoza fired 14 shots from an AK-47 rifle in the air toward Interstate 90 and Illinois Route 72 at a time when his neighbors had six to eight visitors in the yard.

According to Gilberts police, the incident happened around 2 a.m. after Mendoza became upset when he heard giggling outside of his window. The intersection of Interstate 90 and Route 72 is in close proximity to Mendoza’s home.

(CREDIT: Google Maps)

Mendoza appeared July 28, 2019, in Kane County bond court. Kane County Associate Judge Linda Abrahamson set Mendoza’s bail at $10,000, with 10 percent ($1,000) to apply for bond.

Abrahamson ordered Mendoza, if he posts bond, to temporarily surrender all of his guns.

Mendoza’s next court appearance was set for 9 a.m. today (July 31, 2019), in Courtroom 313 at the Kane County Judicial Center.

The charges against Mendoza are not proof of guilt. Mendoza is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the state’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

• Editor’s Note: The feature photo for this article is a Depositphotos image of an AK-47, not the rifle used in the incident.

SOURCE: Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office news release