An Ottawa man was ordered detained Monday while awaiting trial on felony charges stemming from a Saturday shooting inside a bar.
We have a man in a bar with no legal right to carry a firearm, but he’s got it on him.
— Laura Hall, assistant state's attorney
B.J. Redmond, 23, appeared in La Salle County Circuit Court and was presented with three felony counts led by aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, both Class X felonies carrying six to 30 years in prison with no possibility of probation.
The battery with a firearm charge is subject to the state Truth in Sentencing Act, requiring certain felons to serve 85% of their prison time.
Additionally, Redmond is charged with aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class 4 felony carrying one to three years.
The victim remains hospitalized with what the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office described as “serious” injuries. The office declined to issue a condition report or medical update.
In open court on Monday, Redmond applied for and was granted the services of the public defender. Assistant La Salle County Public Defender Brad Popurella said Redmond was at the receiving end of a physical altercation. He asked the judge to place Redmond on home confinement with GPS monitoring.
Prosecutors opposed any form of pre-trial release. In open court, prosecutor Laura Hall said Ottawa police were dispatched early Saturday morning to the patio area of the Zeller Inn, where a subject brandished a firearm, fired it, and then fled.
Hall said the victim sustained a shot to the torso after Redmond, according to witnesses, raised what witnesses described as a small black handgun. A .380-caliber shell casing was recovered at the scene, Hall said.
The gun was produced following an altercation that was caught on video, Hall said, and Redmond was depicted handling the gun moments before the shot was fired.
Hall said detention was the only appropriate remedy, as Redmond was already on pre-trial release for a pending felony charge of criminal damage to property.
“He’s in violation of the conditions of pre-trial release,” Hall said. “We have a man in a bar with no legal right to carry a firearm, but he’s got it on him.”
Hall further argued that Redmond poses a risk to the public, as he “fired this gun in a crowded area in a bar” and placed others at risk.
Chief Judge H. Chris Ryan Jr. agreed that Redmond, who scored a seven on a 14-point risk assessment, posed a threat to others and was a poor candidate for another try at pre-trial release.
A grand jury was expected to get the case on Tuesday. Redmond will next appear on Friday for arraignment.

:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/shawmedia/638ad18c-1176-4018-bcef-b5560cf36d58.png)