An elderly Antioch area man was ordered held without bail Wednesday in the fatal shooting of his neighbor in an apparent argument over the neighbor’s use of a leaf blower, authorities said.
Ettore Lacchei, 79, appeared in court after he was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the shooting death of William Martys, 59. The men were next-door neighbors in the 40700 block of North Black Oak Avenue.
Police said previously Lacchei had “various perceived grievances” with Martys. Neighbors reported that Lacchei was often seen walking along their street armed with a pistol, Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Facklam said at Wednesday’s bond hearing.
Lake County sheriff’s deputies responded to the neighborhood on the evening of April 12 after getting reports of a man lying in a driveway. Officers found Martys fatally wounded with a single gunshot wound to the head.
At the hearing, Facklam said when officers interviewed Lacchei, the suspect said he had not been outside on the day of the shooting. But another neighbor reported seeing Lacchei and Martys, who was holding his leaf blower, apparently engaged in an argument after 7 p.m.
The neighbor reported seeing Martys walking up his driveway with Lacchei following, the prosecutor told Judge Theodore Potkonjak.
Police recovered a spent .25-caliber shell casing and a pistol in Lacchei’s yard. When officers executed a search warrant Tuesday at Lacchei’s residence, they found a case for a small pistol, Facklam said, and a box of ammunition that matched the shell casing found in the yard and other bullets in the gun.
Prosecutors asked the judge to hold Lacchei in lieu of bond, citing him as a flight risk. Lacchei, who apparently is a native of Italy, told police that he had sold his house and was planning on moving there in about three weeks, authorities said. Facklam said the man has an Italian passport.
The judge agreed that Lacchei presented a flight risk, and ordered him held without bail.
According to court records, Lacchei was arrested in January of 2006 for aggravated battery, but the charges were later dropped. The sheriff’s office said the incident involved an attack with a baseball bat, but said additional information could not be released because the case involved a juvenile.
According to an obituary, Martys was a father of four who, “strived to create happy events and opportunities in life while making sure the ones around him were happy as well. If you were William’s friend, you were his friend for life — he would be there no matter the circumstance.”
