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Crime & Courts

19-year-old charged in connection with gunshots that hit Harvard home

Inset of Juan C. Popoca, 19, in front of the Northwest Herald file of the McHenry County courthouse.

A 19-year-old Harvard man was charged with shooting a gun in Harvard Monday and hitting a home, knowing people were inside, court records show.

Juan Carlos Popoca, of the 1400 block of 9th Street, was arrested Tuesday on charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm, the Harvard Police Department said in a news release.

He was taken to McHenry County Jail where he remained in custody in lieu of $75,000 bond, court records show. He would need to post $7,500 bail in order to be released.

Police responded about 6:30 p.m. Monday to the 700 block of West Metzen Street after numerous calls about multiple shots being fired, according to the release. Multiple gunshots had struck a Harvard home and nobody inside the home was injured by the shots.

The McHenry County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Popoca, declined to comment.

The incident remains under investigation by the Harvard Police Department.

Those with information are asked to contact the Harvard Police Department at 815-943-4431 or the Harvard Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 815-943-4343.

In August, Popoca was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon for carrying a handgun without a Firearm Owner’s Identification card, criminal trespass to a building, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition and resisting a police officer. That case is ongoing.

Emily Coleman

Emily K. Coleman

Originally from the northwest suburbs, Emily K. Coleman is Shaw Media's editor for newsletters and engagement. She previously served as the Northwest Herald's editor and spent about seven years as a reporter with Shaw Media, first covering Dixon for Sauk Valley Media and then various communities within McHenry County from 2012 to 2016.