Judge orders fitness evaluation of Dixon man charged with attempted murder of three police officers

OREGON — An Ogle County judge has ordered a mental fitness evaluation of a rural Dixon man who faces charges of attempted murder in connection with the shooting of three police officers on June 12 near Dixon.

Jonathon Gounaris, 32, is being held at the Winnebago County Jail in Rockford on four counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, three counts of aggravated battery and two counts of possession of a firearm without a firearm owner’s identification card. He pleaded not guilty July 10.

Police allege that Gounaris shot three members of the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team after a three-hour standoff when police tried to enter his home at 402 Wild Rice Lane in Lost Lake, a rural subdivision east of Dixon commonly referred to as Lost Nation.

[ Sheriff: Rural Dixon resident shoots 3 deputies after barricading himself in home at Lost Lake ]

Ogle County Sheriff’s Lt. Jason Ketter was shot in the face and taken by air ambulance to OSF Medical Center in Rockford, where he underwent surgery. He was released from the hospital June 14.

Sgt. Tad Dominski of the Oregon Police Department was shot in the arm, and Tyler Carls of the Rochelle Fire Department was shot in the torso. They were treated at KSB Hospital in Dixon and released later that evening.

The ERT is made up of individuals from agencies including the sheriff’s office, Oregon and Byron police departments, and SWAT medics from the Rochelle Fire Department.

Gounaris also was shot during the gunfire exchange and was taken to KSB Hospital in Dixon, where he was treated before being booked into the Winnebago County Jail on June 18.

Judge John “Ben” Roe entered the order for a fitness evaluation on July 25 at the request of Ogle County Public Defender William Gibbs. A fitness evaluation determines if a defendant has the mental capacity to participate in their defense during court proceedings.

Since Gounaris’ first appearance in court on June 20, Gibbs has argued for his release to receive mental health treatment. Despite those arguments, Gounaris has remained in jail.

At the June 20 hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten said the sheriff’s office received a call the morning of June 12 from Gounaris’ mother, who was crying and told police that her son had made suicidal and homicidal comments and had access to two guns.

The mother told police that her son had barricaded himself in the home and threatened to kill himself or anyone else who tried to talk to him. She told authorities that her son suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and, in general, hated police, Leisten told the court that day.

During a preliminary hearing on July 10, Gibbs told Judge John Redington that based on a mental health evaluation done at KSB Hospital in June, the doctors expressed a desire to place Gounaris in an inpatient treatment center.

At a hearing on July 22, Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kruse told Roe that Gibbs was asked to provide documents from KSB Hospital in support of those claims and has not done so.

In her arguments against Gounaris’ release, Kruse told the court, “he is a clear and present danger to everyone. No one is safe from this defendant.”

She emphasized the seriousness of the injuries to law enforcement and said that Ketter’s face is disfigured following his injury.

At that hearing, Roe denied the request for release, but said he understood the defense’s argument for mental health treatment.

The mental health evaluation will be conducted by Jayne Braden, a court-appointed forensic and clinical psychologist in Sycamore, at the Winnebago County Jail.

Braden will submit a written report to the court that details a diagnosis, if one is found, and an explanation as to how that conclusion was reached.

Gounaris’ next court appearance is at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 26.