Lake County Gazette

A felon who allegedly attempted to shoot security staff at an Antioch bar on August 16 was arrested by Lake County Sheriff's Deputies. The firearm malfunctioned and did not fire.

According to a Lake County Sheriff's Office news release, sheriff's deputies responded to a call about a man with a gun at approximately 10:30 p.m. on August 16 at a bar in the 27800 block of West Grass Lake Road in unincorporated Antioch. Detailed descriptions of two offenders were obtained from the 911 caller by Lake County Sheriff's dispatchers, who relayed the information to the deputies. The suspects were located and detained.

The preliminary investigation showed that Ronald X. Owens Jr., 37, of the 2800 block of Buckingham Drive, Lisle, and Edwin Roddy, 42, of the 700 block of Mill Court, Waukegan, had been removed by security from the bar earlier for being disruptive. According to the news release, Owens and Roddy walked to a car in the parking lot and returned to confront security. The investigation alleges that Owens was armed with a firearm, pointed it at security, and pulled the trigger several times, but it did not fire. The suspects went back to a vehicle and met with other people they arrived with.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office news release said that Owens and Roddy returned to the bar to get back inside, but security stopped them. Roddy allegedly punched one of the security guards. The suspects were then found by deputies and arrested.

Owens was charged with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon (class 3 felony), two counts of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon (class 4 felonies), and no Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID)/no Concealed Carry License (CCL) (class 4 felony). Roddy was charged with battery. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.