Northwest Side Man Accused Of Stalking Mayor Lightfoot, Firing Gun Near Her Home
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man was ordered held without bond Thursday on charges of stalking Mayor Lori Lightfoot and firing a gun near her home.
Joseph Igartua, 37, of the Portage Park neighborhood, was charged with three felony counts of stalking and reckless discharge of a firearm. He is accused of stalking the mayor by driving past her Logan Square home multiple times on several days between Jan. 17 and this past Monday, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's office.
On one day alone, he drove past her house 15 times, prosecutors said.
Igartua is also accused of firing a gun near the mayor's home, prosecutors said. He also tried to deliver a letter to her house, prosecutors said.
Each of Igartua's drives past the mayor's house was captured by a license plate reader, prosecutors said. He would drive past the house, then make a U-turn and drive past again, prosecutors said.
On Sunday, Igartua dropped papers, letters, and tickets outside Mayor Lightfoot's home, prosecutors said. This was because he was upset about traffic tickets that had been issued to him, according to prosecutors.
On Monday, he returned yet again and fired a gun, prosecutors said.
Mayor Lightfoot became distraught the day Igartua fired the gun, prosecutors said.
Igartua has a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card and concealed carry permit, and the only offense on his record is a misdemeanor marijuana possession conviction in Lincolnwood, prosecutors said.
A judge ruled that Igartua is a real threat to the mayor based on the number of times he returned to the home and the fact that he fired a gun nearby, prosecutors said.
Igartua has been ordered to stay out of contact with Mayor Lightfoot and to stay away from the area where she lives. If he is released from custody, he must surrender his FOID card and all his guns.
Mayor Lightfoot published a statement about the charges on Twitter Thursday afternoon.
"We simply cannot lose sight of our individual and collective humanity," the statement read in part. "We need to model the behavior that we want our children to copy."
