DeKalb man charged with attempted murder in Saturday shooting: Police

DeKALB – A DeKalb man and convicted felon was arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection to a shooting that injured one person on Hillcrest Drive Saturday, according to court records filed Monday.

Dante Temple, 35, of DeKalb, was arrested and charged after an early Saturday shooting reported about 2:25 a.m. in the 800 block of West Hillcrest Drive, according to DeKalb County court records.

The victim, a man, suffered serious injuries that were not life-threatening and was taken by DeKalb paramedics to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital. He was then transferred to OSF St. Anthony’s Hospital in Rockford “for critical care due to his gunshot wound,” police wrote in court records.

Temple is charged with attempted first-degree murder, being an armed habitual criminal, two counts of armed violence, three counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, two counts of criminal damage to property and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. If convicted of the most serious crime, attempted first-degree murder, he could face 30 years in prison.

He appeared for an initial court appearance on the charges Monday in front of DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Marcy Buick, who ordered him detained pending another hearing set for 1 p.m. Tuesday, court records show. Prosecutors filed a motion Monday to deny release to Temple.

Responding to reports of gunfire early Saturday morning in the 800 block of West Hillcrest Drive, DeKalb police found a man suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg, and seven .22 caliber bullet casings on the roadway, according to court records.

Investigators believe the shooting was a drive-by shooting involving two vehicles, according to court records. The victim was driving a 2018 Honda CRV, which also had damage on the rear driver’s side door from two bullets. A third vehicle nearby, a 2017 Nissan Versa, also was damaged by gunfire.

Witnesses told police that they saw a gun fired from a four-door sports utility vehicle which fled west on West Hillcrest Drive about 2:30 a.m., according to court records. Surveillance video footage reviewed by DeKalb police showed the SUV, a black 2022 Ford Edge, ended up in a parking lot in the 700 block of North Annie Glidden Road.

Two women also told police they were inside the Honda CRV when it was shot at.

The Ford Edge was registered to a DeKalb woman.

In the surveillance video, police reported that they saw a single occupant, a man, wearing a light-colored T-shirt and brown shorts exit the driver’s side of the SUV. Hours later, police saw the woman leave in the Ford Edge. They stopped the vehicle and spoke to the woman, who told police she had a concealed carry license and had a .22 Ruger pistol in a bag in the front passenger area of her SUV, according to court records.

The woman allowed police to retrieve and examine the gun, telling them it should contain almost 10 rounds of live ammunition, police wrote in court records filed Monday.

When police looked at the gun’s magazine, however, they saw only one round in the pistol.

The woman alleged to police that Temple had her vehicle with the pistol inside, from noon Friday to Saturday morning, including at the time of the shooting, according to court records.

Police found Temple inside an apartment on Ridge Drive wearing clothes that matched the surveillance footage, according to court records.

During the weekend investigation, Temple allegedly admitted to police that he fired the gun at the victim’s vehicle. Temple also was taken to Kishwaukee Hospital after complaining of heart issues and seizures, according to court records. At the hospital, he threatened to harm himself. He was released from the hospital and is being held at DeKalb County Jail as of Monday, according to the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Temple has multiple felony convictions in Illinois, according to court records. On Sept. 7, 2021, Temple was convicted of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon out of Cook County and sentenced to seven years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. On Oct. 31, 2012, he was convicted in Cook County of unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and sentenced to three years in the IDOC, according to court records. On July 3, 2008, Temple was convicted of Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking of a handicapped victim and sentenced to nine years in the IDOC, court records show.

He is expected to appear for a status hearing at 1 p.m. Tuesday for a judge to rule on prosecutors’ request to deny his release. He was on parole at the time of the Saturday shooting, according to the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office.