5 years in prison for man who shot woman during drug deal in Lakemoor neighborhood

A McHenry man was sentenced to five years in prison for shooting and critically wounding a woman with a shotgun following a drug deal in Lakemoor in 2022.

Oscar O. Santana, 38, of McHenry, was charged in June 2022 with aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said a Lakemoor police sergeant heard a woman yelling for help as he was leaving the Lakemoor Police Department around 3 a.m. on March 2, 2022.

The sergeant returned the woman’s aid and saw the woman bleeding from her head.

The sergeant called an ambulance and helped the woman until medical teams arrived.

The 28-year-old woman from Sheridan, Illinois, was transported to an area hospital for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Further investigation revealed the shooting occurred as the woman was getting into her car on Pineview Road, Covelli said.

The woman had just left her home in the 31700 block of Jennifer Lane in Lakemoor.

When he got into his car, Covelli said, a man later identified as Santana appeared from the side of the house and fired several shots at him from a shotgun.

The woman managed to drive about half a mile to the police station where the police sergeant was located.

Covelli said the woman was probably at the home for drug dealing.

Lakemoor police officers determined Santana fled on foot westbound following the attack.

The Lakemoor Police Department requested assistance from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and Fox Lake Police Department to establish a large perimeter in the area.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office canine team responded and pursued for approximately a half-mile, where the road ended abruptly with signs that the offender had entered a vehicle.

Covelli said at the time that the incident appeared to be a targeted attack and that there was no threat to the community.

Court records show Santana was ordered held in the Lake County Jail on $600,000 bail and was later released after posting bail.

Last Monday, Santana entered into a negotiated plea agreement with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.

He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony, in exchange for the dismissal of a more serious charge.

Santana was sentenced to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to the plea approved by the judge. He will receive 70 days of credit for time served.