Man charged with attempted murder in shooting over pot deal
RIVERSIDE (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A Riverside man has been charged with shooting another man who allegedly tried to use fake money to pay for weed Saturday evening in the western suburb.
Nicholas M. Radkiewicz, 20, was charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, according to a statement from Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel.
Officers responded to a call of shots fired at 7:01 p.m. in the first block of Forest Avenue in Riverside, police said. No one was there when they arrived, but several shell casings were scattered across the street.
Minutes later, Broadview police officers found a wounded 19-year-old man in the 2900 block of 13th Avenue, police said. He had driven to his home after being shot and collapsed.
He was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood for surgery and is expected to survive, police said.
Detectives learned the 19-year-old had gone to a courtyard on Forest Avenue and tried to buy marijuana from Radkiewicz using fake $20 bills, according to Weitzel.
When Radkiewicz realized the money was bogus, he chased the man out of the courtyard and onto the street, firing at him multiple times and hitting him in the abdomen and below the armpit, police said.
Police arrested Radkiewicz about 4 p.m. Sunday, Weitzel said. He confessed to the shooting in an interview, and detectives were also able to recover video of the shooting from a camera in the courtyard.
Radkiewicz was expected to appear in court for a bail hearing Tuesday morning in Maywood.
Police are still looking for the gun used in the shooting. Anyone with information should call the Riverside Police Department at (708) 447-2127.