Prairie Grove man rescued from Lake Michigan pleads guilty to forcing woman into his car while armed

A Prairie Grove man has pleaded guilty to unlawful restraint after authorities said he forcing a woman into his truck while armed with a gun and then shot at a building in Lake County.

McHenry County prosecutors said in court documents that Nicholas Biagio Cammarata, 46, forced a woman into his car after an argument and drove to Grayslake, where she fled. Later, according to court records, Biagio Cammarata fired off his gun into a Grayslake dental office, then drove to Winthrop Harbor, launched his boat into Lake Michigan and had to be rescued when it capsized.

On May 30, Biagio Cammarata pleaded guilty in McHenry County court to unlawful restraint, a Class 4 felony, and was sentenced to three years in prison, according to an order signed by Judge Tiffany Davis. Biagio Cammarata also pleaded guilty to violating an order of protection that the woman later filed against him, for which he was sentenced to jail time served and fined, according to the order.

On Sept. 10, after a day of fishing and drinking alcohol, authorities said Biagio Cammarata and the woman argued, and Biagio Cammarata pushed her, causing her to fall and injure her tailbone, according to motions seeking medical records and to suppress evidence.

Prosecutors said he then forced her into his truck “by threat of force while armed with a firearm and drove into Lake County,” according to a motion.

Biagio Cammarata drove to an industrial park in Grayslake and, when he exited the car, the woman saw a gun in his rear waistband, authorities said she told them. She then exited, ran from the truck, found Grayslake officers and reported the incident, according to court records.

About 5 a.m. the next morning, Winthrop Harbor police saw Biagio Cammarata’s truck enter the North Point Marina on Lake Michigan, where he launched the boat that was hitched to his truck, according to a court motion.

Authorities said the truck still was running, and the door was left open. Inside, officers said they found “alcoholic beverages and a pipe with burnt leafy green residue in plain view. Officers also entered the truck to pull it off the boat launch. While doing so, officers observed an empty 9-mm magazine and multiple live 9-mm rounds in the center console,” according to a motion.

As an officer ran the license plate and Biagio Cammarata’s name, marine units were responding to a rescue call for a boat that had capsized in the lake about 3 miles from the boat launch, according to a motion. Authorities said Biagio Cammarata was rescued, treated by the Winthrop Harbor Fire Department and taken to a hospital.

About 7:30 a.m., police were called to a dental office in a Grayslake industrial park where the woman had escaped from the truck. There, they found a door damaged, window glass shattered and lobby furniture marred by gunfire. Items had been moved and out of place, including those near a large nitrous oxygen tank hanging from the wall, according to a court document. Police said Biagio Cammarata told them he was trying to steal the tank. Also found at the scene were blood and four spent 9-mm cartridge cases that were linked to Biagio Cammarata, according to a motion.

While Biagio Cammarata’s case was pending, he was accused of violating an order of protection that the woman filed by texting her a message about 1 a.m. Feb. 8 saying, “I’m sorry. I need you.”

With his guilty plea, Biagio Cammarata is required to serve half his prison term followed by six months of mandatory supervised release. He is receiving credit for about 110 days in the county jail, according to the judgment order.

In exchange for the guilty plea, additional, more serious charges were dismissed, including aggravated kidnapping with a firearm, a Class X felony that carries a prison term of up to 30 years. Also dismissed were charges of kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint and three counts of criminal misdemeanor domestic violence, court records show.

Biagio Cammarata’s attorney declined to comment.