URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — A teenager is facing anywhere from a few years to life in prison after he was accused of shooting a man on Thursday in a mobile home park.
19-year-old Erick Estrada was in court on Friday, where he was arraigned on attempted murder charges and charges for other offenses. Prosecutors said an argument happened between Estrada and the victim earlier in the day at Champaign Central High School, which led to the shooting at Apple Drive Mobile Home Park.
Estrada and his 16-year-old brother were arrested shortly after in the parking lot of the nearby Blain’s Farm and Fleet.
“Officers took custody of Mr. Estrada and interviewed both him and his younger brother,” State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said in court. “Both of them admitted that this defendant, Mr. Estrada, was the one with the gun and fired that gun.”
Eliane Jackson, who saw the shooting from her window, couldn’t believe her eyes.
“A round of shots going off. Bang, bang, bang, bang,” she said. “But I thought it was people hunting in the woods behind me.”
Jackson she’ll never forget what she saw from her place.
“And when I looked out my window, I see someone standing on the side of the victim’s home. They were like, hesitant, pacing, standing, vibing in back and forth,” Jackson said. “And I said, ‘Well, let me go get my phone back and take a picture this,’ you know? And then when I come back, they’re running around the front of this white car that’s parked on the street. And they jump in and they take off speeding.”
The car sped off to Farm and Fleet, where police arrested the two teenagers. Estrada’s brother was released without any charges, but he is now charged with attempted murder, aggravated unlawful use of a fireman, aggravated battery with a firearm and mob violence.
As for the victim, the 21-year-old is in the hospital fighting for his life. Jackson remembers seeing her neighbor jump into action to help save his life.
“My next-door neighbor, which surprises me, he was johnny on the spot. And what I mean by that is he ran up to the victim’s car,” she said. “He seen he was bleeding, he put his hand over it to stop the blood from running out, drug [sic] him out of his car to the ground, and that’s where he remained until the police, with his hand over his neck where he was shot.”
Prosecutors are recommending Estrada stay in jail until his trial. That will be decided in his next court appearance Monday.