A 22-year-old North Chicago man accused of firing at least six shots at a fleeing car outside a Citgo gas station — with his young child and other customers nearby — has pleaded not guilty and was ordered released while he awaits trial. Michael C. Wallace Jr. faces a three-count indictment stemming from the April 11 incident, along with a separate cannabis possession charge.
Confrontation Unfolds at the Pumps
According to Lake and McHenry County Scanner, North Chicago police responded to a report of shots fired at about 11:50 a.m. on April 11 at the Citgo station at 2004 Martin Luther King Drive. Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Wallace parking a black Mazda sedan with Texas plates at a gas pump before speaking with a woman driving a gold GMC SUV at an adjacent pump. He then went inside to pay for gas with cash.
After Wallace returned outside, the driver of a blue Nissan sedan approached him and the GMC driver while holding a handgun and pointed it at Wallace, the outlet reported. The two men talked and argued before the Nissan driver left heading east. Wallace then retrieved a handgun from the trunk of his Mazda and fired at least six shots at the Nissan as it drove away, prosecutors said, before leaving the scene in his own car. Other customers, including Wallace's young child, were present at the station when the shots were fired.
How Investigators Identified the Shooter
Investigators used Flock license plate reader cameras to identify the registered owners of the vehicles involved, the report states. Officers also had prior contact with the GMC driver from earlier domestic incidents, and she confirmed Wallace's identity and his presence at the gas station, as well as identifying the Nissan's driver. She told police she did not know why Wallace fired at the departing Nissan. Wallace shares a child with the GMC driver. Officers ultimately matched Wallace's driver's license photo to the surveillance footage to confirm his identity.
A judge issued an arrest warrant, and police arrested Wallace on the warrant, booking him into the Lake County Jail. Police also found cannabis on him during the stop that day. He now faces charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony; aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class 4 felony; and reckless discharge of a firearm, a Class 4 felony, along with a separate Class A misdemeanor charge for possessing more than 30 grams of cannabis.
Prosecutors Sought Detention, Judge Disagreed
The Lake County State's Attorney's Office filed a petition to detain Wallace pending trial. Assistant State's Attorney Jonathan Moy argued that Wallace fired toward the departing Nissan with bystanders and his young child nearby, while Assistant State's Attorney Savannah Halcomb said his release would pose an unmitigable threat to the victim and the community. The detention hearing was initially delayed on a defense motion to review the surveillance video.
Defense attorney Gregory Nikitas countered that Wallace was not the initial aggressor, had no criminal background or gang affiliation, and cooperated with law enforcement. Nikitas also said Wallace had stable housing in Lake County and a supportive family, and asked that he be released with a curfew.
Judge Cites Low Risk Scores in Ordering Release
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim found that the proof was evident and the presumption great that Wallace committed the offense, but he agreed that Wallace was not the initial aggressor and noted Wallace fired toward the other man only after he was already leaving. Nerheim said the child at the scene was someone Wallace knew, and he noted Wallace had low public safety assessment scores along with no firearm-related offenses. He added that Wallace had been cooperative with police and that he had no information tying Wallace to any other incidents since the shooting. Nerheim ultimately denied the state's petition to detain him.
Wallace was released on Level 4 pretrial services monitoring, with a curfew of up to 11 hours set by pretrial services. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim, to surrender any firearms he owns within 24 hours, and not to possess firearms or dangerous weapons going forward. He was also barred from using alcohol, cannabis, or illegal drugs and will be subject to random testing. Wallace's two most recent cases prior to this one were an ordinance violation and a Class B misdemeanor.
Court Dates Ahead
Wallace is scheduled to appear in court on December 8 for a case management conference, with his jury trial set for January 11, 2027. The case echoes other gas-station gunfire incidents the outlet has previously covered in Lake County — including a Waukegan station shooting in 2024 that led to charges against a North Chicago man, Luis E. Garcia, who was accused of firing at an occupied truck as it drove away and was ordered held pending trial, according to Lake and McHenry County Scanner. A separate, far more tragic case out of North Chicago saw a jury convict Alraum C. Williams of first-degree murder for the 2022 fatal shooting of 14-year-old Lavon'ta Brown at a gas station, a conviction that carries up to 75 years in prison; a second defendant, Amireon C. Williams, remained under active prosecution in that case.
