A Springfield man has had murder charges dropped after the State’s Attorney concluded he acted in self-defense during a fatal shooting that happened in April. Despite this, he still faces a misdemeanor charge related to the incident.
On the night of April 1, Nicholas Kammueller, a 46-year-old resident of Rochester, was taken into custody following an escalation of a traffic accident into a shooting at a McDonald’s parking lot. During the incident, 51-year-old Jerald Fahey was shot multiple times and succumbed to his injuries about 30 minutes later.
The altercation arose after Kammueller was involved in a collision with Fahey’s girlfriend. Fahey then arrived to check on her well-being. Initial police reports indicated that Fahey approached Kammueller, who was still present at the scene, and shortly thereafter, gunfire erupted.
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser told WCIA that Kammueller was sitting in his truck when Fahey approached. He then revealed more about what happened during their interaction.
“[Fahey] comes up, enters the vehicle and starts battering [Kammueller],” Milhiser said. “He said he was going to ‘F’ing kill him'”
Based on those threats, Milhiser said Kammueller feared for his life, pulled out a concealed gun and shot Fahey. Kammueller does have a valid FOID card and a concealed carry permit, Milhiser added.
“Under Illinois law, a person can defend themselves,” Milhiser said. “They could use deadly force if they believe that deadly force is going to be used against them.”
Kammueller was arrested for first-degree murder the night of the shooting, but he was ultimately never charged, as the facts pointed to the shooting being a case of justifiable self-defense.
However, Kammueller was also arrested on charges of driving under the influence and carrying a concealed firearm while intoxicated, and Milhiser decided to move forward with those charges. While Kammueller is licensed to carry a concealed gun, Illinois law does not allow him to carry while intoxicated.
Doing so is a misdemeanor and so is driving under the influence.
Kammueller is scheduled to appear in court again for a pretrial conference on Aug. 18.
