Illinois man is fatally shot during argument allegedly over 'pizza and a bar tab'
01/03/2024 1:42 pm PST
WHEATON, Ill. (TCD) -- A 49-year-old man was denied pretrial release after he allegedly fatally shot a man at a bar a few days before Christmas because they got into a disagreement over a bar tab and some food.
According to a statement released by the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, on Friday, Dec. 22, at 8:40 p.m., deputies responded to a shooting call at Rosie O’Reilly’s pub and found Dexter Perkins deceased.
Investigators believe Perkins was involved in a dispute with the suspect, Michael Freund, and two other men. The argument reportedly moved outside, where a "brief scuffle ensued" on the porch between Perkins and another man. During the altercation, Freund allegedly retrieved a 9 mm Glock from his jacket and fired warning shots in the air.
Perkins allegedly walked toward one of the other men, and Freund opened fire, hitting him in the face and torso. Freund allegedly hid the gun in the center console of his truck, but law enforcement officers later found it. The gun had been fired 11 times.
Deputies arrested Freund at the pub on a charge of first-degree murder.
The statement said Perkins did not know Freund or the other men prior to the shooting.
State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said the shooting allegedly occurred "over a dispute regarding pizza and a bar tab."
Rosie O’Reilly’s owner John Dwyer told WBBM-TV Freund and the two other men ordered pizza and had some leftovers.
He said, "So they must have been saying to the bar, 'If anybody wants some leftovers,' and somehow, they got into a questionable argument."
Perkins was reportedly a father of two and was expecting a third.
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