ROCKFORD -- One of two Rockford brothers charged in connection with a shooting near a Pee Wee Football game in northwest suburban Elgin last fall began his trial Friday.
Denarrell Mabry, 21, of the 1900 block of Riverside Drive, is charged with attempted murder and several weapons charges in connection with a shooting near Drake Field on Sept. 8, 2007, that caused mass panic at a youth football game just feet away.
Mabry is expected to testify at his bench trial.
"Shots were fired; that won't be in dispute," said Assistant Public Defender Ronald Haskell during opening arguments Friday. "You'll hear testimony that Mr. Mabry was attacked and beaten. There's no evidence you will hear that will support a charge of attempted murder."
According to authorities, on Sept. 8, Mabry and Larrell Cannon, 26, of the same Rockford address, were involved in a dispute with a group of rival gang members near the intersection of Hastings Street and Illinois Avenue, a short distance from the game. The brothers were there to watch family members who were playing and cheerleading, Elgin police said.
After a physical confrontation during which the two defendants apparently were outnumbered, Mabry fired a chrome-colored handgun at the rival group, then fled with Cannon to a restaurant on the 800 block of St. Charles Street. The two were arrested -- and the pistol recovered -- near that location.
Cannon pleaded guilty in May to one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon in exchange for a six-year prison term. Cannon was not directly involved in the shooting, but did handle the gun as he and Mabry fled police, prosecutors said.
Both men are convicted felons and were on parole at the time of the Drake Field incident.
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