ROCKFORD -- Larrell Cannon, 25, charged in connection with a shooting at Elgin's Drake Field last fall that sent youth football players and their parents ducking for cover has fired his lawyer. But he cannot be represented by the Kane County Public Defender's Office either.
Cannon has pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon. Authorities said Cannon was with co-defendant Denarrell Mabry, 20, of Rockford, in September when Mabry fired off shots from a handgun just feet away from where a youth football game was being played.
Attorneys said because of a conflict of interest, the Kane County Public Defender's Office cannot represent either of the men, who are brothers. Some of those who could be called to testify as witnesses to the Drake Field incident already are represented by the public defender's office in unrelated matters, said Assistant State's Attorney Greg Sams. Instead, they probably will be represented by someone from the multiple defendants division, which is an offshoot of the public defender's office set up for cases in which conflicts exist.
Both men are parolees with significant criminal histories and could face extended sentences if convicted.
According to Keyonna Grant, Cannon's fiancee, Cannon was only trying to protect his brother when the Sept. 8 shooting occurred. Grant said outside the courtroom Friday that a group of seven or more men attacked Mabry, and Cannon rushed to his brother's aid. At some point, Mabry discharged the handgun, authorities say, but Grant insisted that her fiance simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Additional facts about how that day unfolded should be made available at trial.
Despite his prior convictions, Cannon had turned his life around, she said.
"Nobody says (how) he was a straight-A student" while studying to become an HVAC technician, Grant said. "When he got out (of prison) last time, he was a totally different person."
Copyright 2008 STNG Wire, The Chicago Sun-Times. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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