Man found guilty of shooting pregnant woman in Willowbrook: prosecutors

A man who shot a pregnant woman while she was driving on Route 83 in Willowbrook was found guilty Friday of attempted murder and aggravated battery, prosecutors said.

Lawrence Grant, 41, formerly of Chicago, also was found guilty of two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

The jury returned the verdict following a four-day trial and about two and a half hours of deliberations.

About 7 p.m. on Jan. 28, 2022, Willowbrook police responded to a car crash on Route 83. Officers found the victim, a pregnant woman, suffering from a gunshot wound to her back. She was taken to a local hospital where the baby was delivered while the victim was in surgery, authorities said.

Both the baby and mother survived and have subsequently recovered.

Prior to the crash, Grant, the victim and another individual allegedly were involved in an argument that eventually turned physical in a nearby grocery store in the 6300 block of Kingery Highway.

After the altercation, all three individuals left the store in different vehicles with the victim traveling southbound on Route 83. Grant allegedly followed the victim in his vehicle and shot at her, striking the vehicle several times and the victim in her back, causing the vehicle to crash, according to the release.

About 10:30 p.m., Grant was at the University of Chicago Hospital where he was admitted on an unrelated matter. The car in which Grant was allegedly traveling was found destroyed by fire about one block from the hospital. Grant was arrested after he was discharged from the hospital, according to the release.

“On January 28, 2022, after the victim repeatedly declined Lawrence Grant’s advances, he caused a scene inside the Whole Foods store, turned a verbal argument with the victim’s boyfriend into a physical confrontation, followed the victim in her car as she fled the scene and then opened fire at her multiple times, striking her in the back, causing her to crash her car,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “Today, the jury sent a clear message that Mr. Grant’s violent actions of shooting a pregnant woman in the back will not be tolerated in DuPage County and that he will be held responsible.”

 Grant’s is scheduled to appear in court June 20 for return of the pre-sentence report. He faces a penalty of between 31 years to life in prison.

Grant has been in custody at the DuPage County Jail since February 2022.