FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – A man is behind bars and accused of shooting at a car near a gas pump in St. Clair County.
Prosecutors have charged Karl Coleman, 39, with seven felonies in the investigation. Fairview Heights police report Coleman is a convicted felon.
According to St. Clair County court records, the charges date back to Dec. 21, 2022. Police responded to the area of Lincoln Trail at Bunkum Road in response to shots fired. About an hour later, police stopped a vehicleat Lincoln Trail at N. Illinois St, partially because officers had seen it near the original call.
During the traffic stop, police noticed a loaded SKS style rifle on the passenger seat of the car. The driver, later identified as Coleman, was found to be in possession of methamphetamine and a stolen rifle.
The next day, a victim came forward and told police their vehicle had been shot while they were at the gas pump. Coleman is accused of firing a shot from his moving vehicle at the victim’s vehicle and striking the car. The victim and suspect did not know each other, and there was no altercation before the shots fired.
Coleman is charged with armed violence, possession of a stolen firearm, felon in possession of a weapon, possession of methamphetamine, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm. He is being held in the St. Clair County Jail on a $500,000 bond.