MONROE — There is another delay in the first-degree murder case against former Monroe resident Christopher Scott, following a scheduled pre-trial hearing on Thursday, January 23 in Stephenson County Circuit Court in Freeport, Ill.
Scott, 22, is accused of murder in the shooting death of 24-year-old Montrell Scott in Freeport in 2022.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm and one count of aggravated discharge of a machine gun in the Feb. 10, 2022 incident.
The latter charge indicates he may have either had an automatic weapon or perhaps a type of “switch” for Glock handguns — found far too often on the streets — that makes them fully automatic and usually paired with an extended magazine.
After numerous status hearings and continuances granted over the previous two years and several in April, Scott was scheduled to appear in Stephenson County Circuit Court again on the charges on Thursday, May 16, 2024. And then the case carried over into the new year, with numerous subpoenas and another change in representation for a defendant who has gone from pro se — at one point representing himself — to a public defender; and now, private attorney Kunal Kulkarni of Rockford, according to court records.
Late Thursday, Kulkarni, reached by phone, said he could only confirm being on the case and that he is reviewing it in advance of a new status hearing date of February 21.
Scott remains in jail after an earlier petition for pre-trial release failed.
Following last Thursday’s jury pre-trial, status hearing, State’s Attorney Carl Larson said that the trial likely will not proceed until at least the end of February.
“It’s not going to trial next week,” he said of the now extended date for jury trial to begin.
After the 2022 gunfire in Freeport, the defendant, Christopher Scott fled but was later taken into custody near Chicago Avenue and Empire Streets in the city — about 23 miles from his Monroe home, according to the Freeport Police Department’s statement. A fugitive apprehension team took him into custody.
Earlier in the investigation, police said they believed the incident was not random — and most likely gang related. It is unclear if the defendant and the victim are related, although after his arrest police said he likely was not related to him.
According to court records, Christopher Scott was convicted in 2018 of two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm near a vehicle/school. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison and it is unclear how he was freed so soon after, only to commit another gun crime.
The victim, according to court records has a history of arrests for misdemeanor crimes including drug possession, but no apparent felonies in Stephenson County.
“The Freeport Police Department would like to express their deepest condolences to the family of Montrell Scott, as well as the Department’s sincere appreciation for the family’s patience and understanding during the 3-month long investigation,” police said in a statement posted on May 4, 2022. “The Police Department also wants the public to know that several other murder investigations are still on-going and will remain active cases until suspects are apprehended or all possible leads are exhausted.”