Antioch man Ettore Lacchei charged with murdering neighbor over leaf blower denied bond

ANTIOCH, Ill. (WLS) -- An Antioch man charged with murdering his neighbor over a leaf blower is being held without bond.

Antioch police said a little less than two weeks ago, on April 12, they were called to a home in the 40700-block of North Black Oak Drive just after 7:30 p.m. for a report of an unresponsive man in a driveway.

Investigators said employees of Martys' construction company had arrived at his home shortly after the shooting and called police.

When police and paramedics, they found 59-year-old William Martys had been shot in the head. He was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where he was pronounced dead.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday Martys' next door neighbor, 79-year-old Ettore Lacchei, was charged with two counts of first degree murder in Martys' death.

The sheriff's office said their investigation found that on the day he died, Martys had been using a leaf blower in his yard when Lacchei approached him. They argued, and during the argument Lacchei allegedly shot Martys in the head.

Police said they found the likely murder weapon near Lacchei's property line.

Lacchei was arrested Tuesday at his home without incident, police said. He appeared in court Tuesday, where bond was denied.

Neighbor JR McCarty said the Martys and Lacchei had a history of conflict, with Lacchei pulling a gun on Martys once before.

"No one deserves anything like that and it's just kind of crazy to think that someone can just break like that over just a simple argument that can be fixed just talking," he said.

Prosecutors said in court Lacchei had planned to travel in Italy and likely would have been out of the country if police had tried to arrest him even days later.

Lacchei is due back in court in May.