No Charges: Fatal Shooting Sparked By Fight Over Rent, Eviction

LOCKPORT TOWNSHIP, IL — The Will County Sheriff's Office said charges will not be filed at this time against a 76-year-old landlord they say fatally shot his tenant. Patrick Bernotas, 36, of Homer Glen, died at Silver Cross Hospital on Sunday after he was shot once at close range in the chest.

The shooting happened in the 100 block of Pendleton Drive at 9:36 a.m. July 12, the sheriff's office said. Deputies were told the person who called 911 and performed CPR on Bernotas was also the person who shot him.

Bernotas was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased, and the 76-year-old landlord was taken into custody. According to police, detectives and crime scene investigators arrived to investigate the shooting.

The sheriff's office said the residence was in "deplorable conditions" and is unfit for occupancy.

When police interviewed the 76-year-old man, they learned he and Bernotas had gotten into a verbal argument over $20,000 owed in back rent, the sheriff's office said. The man wrote a 5-day notice of eviction and gave the document to Bernotas.

The man said this enraged Bernotas, and he threatened to harm the landlord. To avoid conflict, the man told police he went into his bedroom on the lower level of the home and partially closed the door. The man was afraid the argument would turn physical, so he took out his loaded handgun, a Taurus Judge revolver, which he keeps in between the cushion and armrest of a chair, the sheriff's office said.

Police said the gun was loaded with .410 shotgun shells and .45 Colt ammunition.

According to police, the man placed the revolver on top of the chair. He then heard Bernotas coming toward his room, so he picked up the gun. The man told police Bernotas swung open the door "in an aggressive manner."

The man was afraid he was going to be physically attacked, and fired one .410 shotgun shell, which hit Bernotas in the chest. The man told police he was aiming for Bernotas' shoulder.

According to police, the man said Bernotas retreated upstairs to his bedroom, and collapsed on a couch in the living room. The man then called 911 and started CPR.

The sheriff's office said after reviewing the case, the state's attorney's office elected not to charge the 76-year-old with a crime at this time.

Evidence will be sent to the crime lab for analysis, and the case will remain open until the results of those tests and the coroner's report is complete, the sheriff's office said.

Patch has reached out to the Will County State's Attorney's office for more information on the decision not to file charges.