Elgin man charged in shooting death

Eighteen-year-old Guillermo Pineda, of Elgin, and a group of his friends were on the 800 block of Arthur Drive late Monday shortly before 11 p.m. — just a few blocks from Pineda’s home.

Around the same time, Donald Rattanavong, 57, looked out his window and saw a group of teenagers near his car, which was parked on the street. Rattanavong, armed with a small caliber handgun walked outside and yelled at the teens before firing multiple shots, Elgin police said.

One of those bullets struck Pineda, of the 1100 block of Iroquois Drive. Pineda died at Sherman Hospital Monday night from a gunshot wound to the head, police said.

None of the other teens was injured.

Elgin Police Department spokeswoman Sue Olafson said police received the 911 call at 10:50 p.m. Monday for a shooting on the 800 block of Arthur Drive.

Rattanavong never saw the teenagers inside his car, Olafson said.

“He believed that his car was being burglarized,” Olafson said. “But no entry had been made.”

Rattanavong, who does not possess a valid firearm owner’s identification card, was taken into custody Monday night while Elgin police conducted an investigation.

Rattanavong’s wife, Southip, said she was upstairs while her husband was downstairs during the confrontation so she didn’t know what happened. With the noise from Fourth of July fireworks in the background, she said she didn’t hear anything.

But Southip said Rattanavong told her he didn’t think about killing anyone.

“He said he fired a shot in the air and that’s it,” Southip said.

Rattanavong was charged Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter as well as reckless discharge of a firearm, police said.

According to Olafson, the Cook County State’s Attorneys Office declined to prosecute burglary charges for any of the teenagers.

Rattanavong appeared in Cook County Bond Court Wednesday afternoon where bail was set at $50,000. His next court date is scheduled for July 27.