Merle Prascak, 47, from Oregon, has been charged with felony reckless discharge of a firearm following an incident involving two utility workers near his home on April 7. His attorney, Rahnesha Williams, stated that Prascack fired three shots into the ground to scare off the men, whom he thought were burglars. The state alleges that Prasak fired a handgun in a reckless manner that endangered the safety of the workers, who were working for Nicor Gas. Prasacak was initially denied pretrial release by Judge Anthony Peska and remanded to the Ogle County Jail after court appearances on April 10 and 15. Williams argued that the shots had been fired from an angle that would have prevented ricochet, arguing that the shooting occurred in a rural area where no ricochet was possible.