Man charged in Round Lake Beach fatal shooting
A Round Lake Beach man has been charged in connection with the July 24 shooting death of Valeria Rodriguez.
Shorbonia Poole Jr., 19, of the 1400 block of Kildeer Drive, was charged by the Lake County state’s attorney’s office with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Additional charges are expected, according to Major Crime Task Force officials.
Poole was on probation for a 2023 aggravated robbery case, according to the Lake County state’s attorney’s office.
According to records of the Circuit Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in Lake County, on Aug. 3, 2023, the state’s attorney’s office dismissed four felony charges stemming from an offense on July 12, 2023.
Poole on Feb. 20, 2024, pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 48 months of probation and home monitoring after he also spent seven months in jail between July 2023 and February 2024.
“This case is our highest priority,” Sara Avalos, public information officer at the Lake County state’s attorney’s office, said in an email to the Daily Herald.
“We are completing the investigation alongside the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force and finalizing charges — all while we stay in close contact with the family. The defendant is detained while we complete these steps.”
On Friday, using a search warrant of the home on the 1400 block of Kildeer Drive, Round Lake Beach detectives and task force investigators found a semiautomatic pistol and other evidence, officials said.
The pistol uses the same kind of cartridges found outside Rodriguez’s home, task force officials said.
Poole had an initial court hearing Saturday morning.
At about 9:10 p.m. Wednesday, Round Lake Beach Police responded to a call of a person hurt at a residence on the 1500 block of Cherokee Drive in Round Lake Beach.
When police arrived they found a 15-year-old who had been shot. Initial investigation indicated someone outside near the home fired a gun, and a stray bullet entered the home and hit the person inside.
Apparently not the intended target of the shooting, investigators believe, Rodriguez was taken to a nearby hospital and later died, officials said.
A GoFundMe account “Honoring Valeria Rodriguez’s Memory” has been established to support her family and help with costs of her memorial service.
The investigation into the homicide continues. Anyone with information is urged to call Round Lake Beach Police at 847-546-2127.