Rock Falls man charged with 7 felonies pleads not guilty in garage party shooting case

A Rock Falls man has pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges accusing him of being one of three men who showed up at a Rock Falls garage party unwelcome, masked and armed, beat two men, threatened others at gunpoint and then shot at the garage while running away.

Baraka D. Boards, 22, entered a not guilty plea during a preliminary hearing Monday, July 14, in Whiteside County Circuit Court. He was formally charged July 3 with two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, two counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated battery while wearing a mask to conceal identity, and one count of reckless discharge of a firearm for the June 29 early morning shooting in the 1300 block of Franklin Street.

Boards, Emillio Castro, 18, and Ethon T. Hemminger, 18, are all charged with the same offenses in connection with the case. Castro and Hemminger’s preliminary hearings are set for 1:30 p.m. on July 21.

The three, who appeared together July 3 for a detention hearing in Whiteside County Circuit Court, were taken into custody July 2 after party-goers told police the three showed up at the party about 2:30 a.m., uninvited, wearing masks, carrying guns and at one point threatening to “blow off” the head of one of the party-goers. Two men at the party suffered head wounds, according to court documents.

Whiteside County Assistant State’s Attorney Ryan Simon said that the party-goers had earlier been swimming in a pool on the property when one of the three men, who was communicating by phone with a female guest at the party, asked if the three could come over to the house and join in the party. The female said the men could not come over because one of them did not get along with one of the other men at the party.

Simon said the party-goers were sitting in the garage a couple of hours later when three men showed up armed and told the guests to empty their pockets and lie down on the floor. The three men pointed guns at the seven people, with two of the men verbally threatening the guests and then those two using their guns to beat two of the men in the head and cause head wounds, Simon said.

The three armed men then ran out of the garage and fired at it from the outside as they fled the property; a nearby house on Minkle Street was also struck by a bullet, Simon said.

Simon said that while the assailants were masked, party-goers identified two of the men, Boards and Hemminger, based on their eyes, voice, and gait, Simon said during the July 3 detention hearing. The third man, Castro, was identified by his eyes, Simon said.

Boards was arrested on July 2 at his residence. Hemminger and Castro turned themselves in that day at the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office. Hemminger and Boards have been denied pretrial release and remain in the Whiteside County Jail. Castro was granted pretrial release.

The most serious charge, aggravated discharge of a firearm, is a Class 1 felony that carries a possible 4-15 year prison term upon conviction.

Boards’ next court appearance is a pre-trial conference set for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 27. His jury trial is tentatively scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 9.