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POSTED:
July 15, 2004
CHICAGO
-- Bond was denied Wednesday for a 67-year-old
Franklin Park man accused of fatally shooting an elderly member of the board of
his condominium association that had evicted him, and critically wounding a
woman who was with her.
Maywood
Judge John D. Tourtelot refused to set bond for Zdzislaw Kuchlewski when the
defendant appeared in court charged in the Tuesday night slaying of Rita
Hohmeier, 75, Cook County state's attorney's office spokesman Tom Stanton
said.
Kuchlewski,
of 9146 W. Grand Ave., was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and
one count each of attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm,
Stanton said.
Krecker
said that Hohmeier was the secretary for the board of the condo association,
and because she was the person who filed the eviction paperwork with the
court, Kuchlewski targeted her.
He
had not paid his monthly fees, which took care of maintenance for such things
as lawn care and garbage disposal, and was evicted Tuesday, Krecker said.
He
said that Kuchlewski, after discovering his belongings strewn across the front
lawn and a neighboring back yard, became upset and waited for Hohmeier to
return home.
When
she returned home with another woman, Kuchlewski fatally shot her and wounded
her companion, Krecker said.
Hohmeier
was hit at least three times and the other woman twice, Krecker said.
The
second victim, a woman in her 60s from Northlake whose name was not released
pending family notification, was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in
Maywood where her vital signs were stable, Krecker said he was told by
hospital officcials.
The
woman was "still alive" but it was "questionable last
night" as to whether she would survive, Petersen said at 9:15 a.m. He
could not provide a condition update for the woman.
The
woman apparently had assisted Hohmeier at home because Hohmeier had health
problems, the chief said.
After
firing at least five shots, Kuchlewski put his gun down and waited for police
to arrive. When they came, he calmly surrendered, Krecker said.
Kuchlewski
was scheduled to appear for a bond hearing in Maybrook Court at 2 p.m.
Wednesday, Krecker said.
The
shooting happened at 6:52 p.m. Tuesday, said Franklin Park Police Chief Randy
Petersen.
Kuchlewski
apparently had been waiting several hours for Hohmeier and her companion to
return, Petersen said.
Hohmeier
and her companion exited a vehicle in the parking lot and Kuchlewski then got
out of his vehicle, Petersen said.
"There
was a confrontation with some yelling," and two residents called police
and said "there looked like there was going to be a fight in the
lot," he said.
The
residents called police back "within seconds" and said shots had
been fired, Petersen said.
Police
arrived "within a minute or two" and arrested Kuchlewski "on
the sidewalk by the street," he said, and added a .380-caliber automatic
pistol was seized.
"We
had a big language barrier" while talking to Kuchlewski, Petersen said. A
police officer, possibly from Norridge, was called in to serve as an
interpreter, he said.
Kuchlewski
owed about $4,000 in monthly fees to the condominium association, Petersen
said.
Kuchlewski
apparently lived alone, had no known criminal record and had a firearm owner's
identification card, Petersen said.
Hohmeier
was "a longtime resident of the community and the building," he
said. |