McHenry residents testify about waking up to shattered glass at attempted murder trial

Residents of a McHenry neighborhood testified Friday to being woken up early in the morning by loud crashes and finding windows broken and rocks in their homes.

Among the residents who testified at the McHenry County trial of Nicholas Lopardo, 27, was Holly Neville. Neville, an 18-year veteran 911 dispatcher for McHenry, found herself on the other end of an emergency phone call.

About 2:30 a.m. March 31, 2023, she heard her dogs barking and a window shattering in the basement, where many guns and weapons were stored.

Neville was in tears describing the moments of not knowing if someone was in her home and scared for her children’s safety. She feared whoever it was would get ahold of one of the guns owned by her husband, who is a military veteran, knowing she and her family on the second floor were unarmed. And, if the intruder came up to the second floor, there was no escape, she said.

Prosecutors played the 911 call in court, during which Neville is heard crying, whispering, “Somebody broke into my house.” She is heard telling one of her children to stay in their room, lock the door, and “Do not open this door no matter what.”

Lopardo, of Lake Villa, is accused of attempted first-degree murder, among other charges. He went on what prosecutors described as a “reign of terror” after a woman rejected his advances at a party.

The string of events began at a friend’s house about three hours earlier, after Lopardo had spent the day drinking and ingesting cocaine, according to earlier testimony. He left that house in a black Jaguar, but not before allegedly firing off a gun about five times, authorities said. Prosecutors said he then stole a black Suburban and shot at three moving vehicles, two police vehicles and a Honda driven by a woman delivering newspapers.

He then wandered through the Oaks of Irish Prairie subdivision randomly firing off a gun, throwing rocks through windows, and damaging fences and vinyl siding, prosecutors allege.

On Wednesday, they played video from a home security system in the subdivision showing a person walking down a street. Gunfire also is heard on the video.

Lopardo’s attorney, Robert Ritacca, sought to cast doubt that it was Lopardo in the video. He asked the homeowner if he could describe the man in the video, which he could not. He asked witnesses if they saw who created the mayhem, which they did not.

On Wednesday, former McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Detective Christopher Marvel testified. He collected and photographed evidence from a building in a conservation area near the subdivision.

Marvel is facing his own criminal charges involving felony misconduct charges, prompting Ritacca to repeatedly challenge Marvel’s credibility.

The trial resumes March 26.